GO TEAM FTC!!!

GO TEAM!  Bayside High style.

RUN TO THE BEAT - DONE!!!

Aaron, Cheryl, Fiona and Flair have (collectively) run TWO MARATHONS!!! Needless to say we are very proud of ourselves.

Sunday dawned bright and early for us runners (and our teams of supporters, thank you all of you!).  We made our seperate ways to Greenwich with a number of other people in their purple Run to the Beat t shirts.  It was hot in Greenwich, really hot (about 35 degrees that day I believe).  We all agreed the first five miles were a killer in the sun, and mainly up hill.  The hills did not defeat us, we ran ran ran the whole way.  Cheryl was off like a shot, she knew her pace and stuck to it, placing first within our Futures team, well done Cheryl we are very proud of you!  Aaron escorted Fiona and I (Flair) around the course to 12 miles.  This was an absolute pleasure for him (he assures me).  He was able to play word games and listen to me singing, swearing and generally showing off for 12 miles.  Aaron challenged himself to sprint the last mile which he did, I think you must have run that in about six minutes Aaron!  That's why our supporters missed him, he's simply too fast.  Fiona and I (running buddies 4 eva) started and finished together (I am not bitter in any way that Fiona placed one second faster than me, meaning I technically came last).  Fiona battled her cold and not actually being able to breath at times (!) with a little help from The Prodigy at 10 miles.  The beatz were a life saver.  In less than two and a half hours all of Team FTC were done! 

Fresh faced and ready to run to the beat!

Cheryl at three miles and, she knows the answer... 

First siting of our supporters at three miles - whoop!

Still happy at five miles.  Apparently I skipped the whole way.

Fiona's lovin' it lovin' it lovin' it

Our loyal supporters at the 12 mile mark keeping an eye out.  Watch out, here we come!

Smokin' HOT at 12 miles

Medals prove we are WINNERS!

Straight back on the sauce (well Fiona is a student now so she was drinking throughout the whole race).

Thank you for all of your support (it's not too late still! http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/run4futures)

xx Big Love Team FTC xx

Down at Fraggle Rock

It's Flair here, I'm on my holidays but as I am such a serious athlete, my training continues. Today's run was a pituresque one along the cliffs in Cornwall. Here follows the journey...

At the beginning (if you look very closely you can spot Fraggle Rock in the distance!)

Reaching my half point Hell's Mouth. Yes that's right.

Running is KOOL!

The end.

10 Miles?... Kneesy Peasy!

It has had quite an eventful running week…I feel the urge to blog about it!

Firstly, Flair and I ran 10 miles on Tuesday evening!! (Yes that’s right only 3 off a half marathon!!)  We are feeling very proud of ourselves; however we are still feeling the pain.

On which note I should mention that the old saying "no pain no gain" really has been my mantra these past 2 weeks.  Unfortunately I am suffering with ‘runner’s knee’ (aka illiotibial band syndrome) which means that I have to rest for longer between runs and do some weird and wonderful stretches!  I went to see a nice Physio last night and despite receiving the most painful massage I have ever had I’m feeling positive and hope my training will continue to progress well!

In other news I hear my fellow #TeamFTC members are getting on well with their training and fitting it around rather demanding theatre tours - Go Team!

Oh and highlight of my training so far has to be Tuesday night… 5 miles into our run Flair and I are running and chatting away along Albert Embankment… as we run past what looked like your average guy realise that actually he is nonchalantly carrying a rather large snakes coiled around his arms! I have to say that the fleeting, unexpected sight of this snake as we ran past really got us moving …and screaming!! 

Anyway, only 3 weeks to go...which means you still have time to sponsor us!!...  http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/run4futures

Fiona x

8 Mile Road

Hello Team FTC Supporters!

It’s five weeks, three days until we embark on 13.1 miles. This magnificent feat truly dawn on Flair and I this week and so we decided to step up our training and run for 8 miles (our longest run yet)…and we did!!!  That was last night, this morning I can barely walk having sustained a knee injury and there are quite a few moans and groans coming from Flair’s side of the office!  I’m off to Runner’s Need tomorrow for a trainer check up and Boots for deep heat and knee supports!   I will not be defeated by my lame body!!

In other news….Flair and I tried out a new route last week and took in some tourist sights on our run.  This included Buckingham Palace, Nelson’s Column, police riots vans and in direct contrast the serene cultural South Bank! Personally I’m thinking we should start up a London sight seeing run, our enthusiasm as you will see from the photos will surely not be surpassed and all money could be donated to FTC of course!!...any takers?!.......

Thanks to those that have sponsored us so far … If you haven’t please give what you can!   

Fiona x

 

Buckingham Palace - soooo cool



Nelson's Column - it's big



Riot vans speed down Albert Embankment



On the other side of the river.... people dance on the South Bank!

Tired and delusional - please sponsor us!!

Free Running

Not content with the challenge of a half marathon, Fiona and I (Flair) decided to spice up our training with some free running. During our 70 MINUTE (70 MINUTES) run we took to the streets around some of central London's famous landmarks to show the kids how it's done...

Lords a leaping

Free, free falling

Aaron's first blog

As one of my running buddies (Flair) has already mentioned I didn't go running with her and Fiona on Monday because I didn't want to travel in Waterloo in the rain. Rubbish excuse but I was thinking about my health ^.^ I have to remain healthy until that special date in Septemeber.

I lost the run of myself

I think I almost like running.

On Monday evening Fiona and I (that's Flair) ran down to Tower Bridge (without Aaron, it was raining after all) and back along the river. We ran for ONE HOUR. 60 MINUTES. But the most amazing part is, we didn't stop. We just carried on running and talking about what we could eat when we finished running. And suddenly we had run for ONE HOUR. I think this is nothing short of a miracle. On the flip side it's less than half of the half marathon we are training for. Maybe when I'm running for longer than an hour (ugh) I'll actually start loving it. As a very wise man once said to me 'I lost the run of myself. LOL'.

Thank you to everyone who's sponsored us so far! It's on the up! http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/run4futures

Hitting the ground running

Hello Team FTC Blog Fans!

... So the twelve week count down to our half marathon officially started on Sunday! I am very excited about this; it means I'm starting my 12 week training programme this week! Now that's not to say I haven't already started my training. I usually run 2-3 times a week generally so now it's time to step things up and make sure my training is on target! Not sure why I'm so excited about this but I actually am!...maybe ask me again in a few weeks.

Unlike my fellow runner Flair, I have been running lots in the sunshine recently! - thanks to the change in weather. This in theory is a good thing, however it does mean that I end up doing a very effective impression of a tomato - exhibit A: (fresh from my Sunday 4 mile run!)

Flair and I have also recently started training together which has motivational for us both - if you every fancy seeing true athletes in action keep an eye out along the South Bank most Tuesday evenings!

On the sponsorship front, so far we have nearly reached £300 which is a great start and really keeps me going when I am out running - so thanks to all those that have already donated! A few weeks ago I had a Blue Peter moment and created this:

...which is proudly displayed outside our office - that's right it's our official sponsorship target monitor! I hope you will be suitably impressed.

As you see we have a way to go to reach our target but I am sure we will get there. Thanks for reading and for your support! www.charitygiving.co.uk/run4futures

Fiona x

Take me running soaking in the rain...

Hello, it's Flair here. I am Futures education officer and I am an ATHLETE. Well, as of about four weeks ago I am an athlete. But tonight I am just tired and teasy. I have just been running in the rain. As 'Run to the Beat' is in September I thought it may even be pleasant, at times, to spend a balmy summer evening running by the river. But tonight the reality of my training set in as I made my way around the bog that is Tooting Common on a Friday evening, in the rain.

A good thing about running in the rain is that it distracts me from the agony I am in. I love a distraction (as Daryl and Fiona will atest to). I managed my longest run yet (still probably less than a mile...), spurred on by my old skool running 'trax' mix. So the rain isn't so bad. I was probably slightly less blue than I normally am when I made it back to my flat. I attempted to take a photo of myself (sadder than running on a Friday night in the rain, taking a photo of myself after said event) but it didn't quite convey my dramatic 'soaked to the skin' appearance.

In my head, whilst I pretended I was still running as I crossed Streatham High Road listening to 2 Unlimited, I looked like this...

The reality was, in fact, more like this...

New Blog! Run to the Beat 2011 #TeamFTC

Hi and welcome to the TeamFTC official blog for Run to the Beat 2011 !

Here you can keep up to date with the progress our team are making in preparing for the race on 25 September and also see how we are doing in reaching our fundraising aim of £5,000!!

What are we raising money for?...

Futures Theatre Company is a charitable organisation based on London’s South Bank and currently does not receive any core funding. It relies on project funding and donations from generous individuals, companies and trusts to deliver its important work with some of the most vulnerable women and young people in the capital.

Funds raised through Run to the Beat will directly benefit vulnerable women and young people participating in Futures’ projects running in 2011/12. By sponsoring TeamFTC, you will be helping Futures Theatre Company to deliver important projects that really make a difference to people's lives.

This is Fiona, Flair, Aaron and Cheryl's first ever attempt at running a half marathon and every penny donated goes directly to these very important projects!
So how are we doing so far?.....

Well its been a good start, our team posed for some official publicity shots to promote their challenge and we've had a flurry of actvity at our online donation page kicking us off with £125.  Of course we've still got a long way to go before we reach our target but with your help we know we can ge there!

TeamFTC begin training (l-r Cheryl, Aaron, Fiona & Flair)

Make a Donation

Making a donation to support our team couldn't be simpler. Simply click here to pledge your support online. If you would prefer to donate in another way (post or in person) feel free to call the office on 0207 928 2832.

Keep up to date

Here, over the next few weeks, we will give updates on how our team are getting on with their training and how well they are doing in getting sponsorship together to reach their target - we promise a unique insight for people to see how we get on over the summer!

You can also follow us on Twitter (use the hashtag #TeamFTC). You can also join our Facebook page

Thanks for reading and I hope you will consider pledging your support to this very worth cause and our great team of runners!

Daryl Smith
Campaign Manager