Really, really tough...but worth it.

Cliche it may be but you never quite appreciate some things until they are gone or until you witness them first hand. All of us running in this bloody race (sorry but it hurts to run, alright!) have lived in Jersey for some sizeable portion of our lives and with us being surrounded by so much beautiful coastline and consequently so much of our lives spent on, in, under, near or reliant on the water the RNLI really is the 4th emergency service (not the AA, who after all don't tend to go out in a Force 8 to rescue ill equipped speedboats!). Watching footage of the Jersey RNLI making sail in the recent storms proved to be a valuable reminder to me how easy it is to forget what they face just during their 'shouts' and also how the need for the best equipment is completely justified.

It will be tough running this race, some of our group are very fit and used to this sort of thing (the gits), most of us less so. I personally am a big fat walking bag of damaged bones , viruses and cartilage at the moment with a training program lying in tatters like the undergarments of the Cadburys Caramel bunny during mating season but as my physio oh so helpfully advised me whilst a marathon was out of the question I should be okay for a half marathon (perhaps that should be a fun-size Marathon?). If you have no idea how hard it will be try running for seven or eight minutes and then contemplate another twenty of those immediately after. But hey, if it wasn't worth it I doubt any of us would even contemplate it. Yet despite this is still pales into comparison with the rigours of RNLI's daily challenges.

Through the loss of a wonderful friend we have probably all realised that life is a terribly fragile thing and folk like the RNLI willingly risk theirs for others without guaranteed funding and often without recognition. That is why we want your money. Simple to understand really isn't it?

Sanctimonious, self indulgences aside I will be annoying a number of people for donations soon so please pass the message on to anyone you know that we are here and please give something . Now, where is that phone book...?