I was very fortunate to be given a place in Jane Tomlinson’s 10km run in Leeds. It was something I was very grateful for and gave me a chance to find out more what it was about this wonderful woman that made her so special. However it was going to prove a little bit of a logistical challenge.

On the Saturday before hand I had the task of picking up six rowing machines and taking them to Aldershot for the Hampshire youth games. Thankfully two apprentice coaches from the Amateur Rowing Association were on hand to help coach children who came to try their hand at rowing. Three hundred plus children later we were finished. We got the machines away and back to Coalporters in Southampton. Now on that Saturday eve it was my turn to get to Leeds.

Time and money meant I wasn’t going to be able to stay up there the night before. So the solution was to get an overnight National Express Bus. The bus up to London that was very comfortable, after a change at London the bus from London to Leeds was not. It was a return to the old days when the seats were unsettling and the onboard toilets leaked an unpleasant odour. This didn’t make for a great nights sleep. Plus the driver moved the bus around like he was a frustrated Lewis Hamilton wannabe.

I arrived at Leeds bus station just before 5.30 am. The next part was to find my way to the race registration. I turned right out of the station and walked into a group of revellers who had just left a night club. Some smoking funny substances made me feel nervous enough to spin around and grab a taxi. I arrived at the start to see them start setting up the race. I had actually managed to beat some of the organisers to the start. After getting there and finding the registration office, I then tried to find Maggie who had helped organise my place before she became to busy.

I saw someone who seemed to be wearing race official wear. He was chatting to someone with his back to me. I waited for him to finish and asked politely if he knew where Maggie was. He turned round and it was the late Jane Tomlinson’s husband Mike. I felt quite embarrassed as if he didn’t have enough on his mind today. I got to meet with Maggie and she gave me instructions for my vip access. I thankfully was amongst a privileged few who was given breakfast and somewhere nice to eat it. I saw more of the Tomlinson family. What struck me by observing a little of how they were with each other wasn’t so much how genuine they were but how loving and strong they were as a family unit. I started to understand then where Jane must of got the strength to achieve what she did.

It wasn’t long before I got to the race start. Looking around it was easy to see that it really was a run for all. Another thing to strike me was the bravery of some of the runners. Some of these must have been dealing with chemo at the time or were recovering from it.

As we shuffled down to the start the announcer spoke out about some of Jane’s achievements which drew a well deserved round of applause. He son Steven helped get the first group of runners away. This very brave young man seemed to cope with the task in his stride.

The race had a great spirit and wonderful atmosphere. Towards the finish though something else kicked in that I hadn’t felt for a while. I was exhausted from the travelling but something deep down prompted a competitive kick. I opened up the throttle, which I hadn’t done for a while in the last 2km. I got to the finish and treated myself to a well-deserved massage. I picked up one of my ducks which had been signed by Nell McAndrew (hopefully this one will be popular with the men). Now for the return on the National Express in the knowledge I had taken part in something special.

The following weekend was going to be on a different playing field all together. I was very grateful to be given a place in the JP Morgan around the island race. I was allowed to join the crew on a very beautiful yacht called Cetewayos owned by David Murrin. I arrived on the boat the night before to find myself on a choppy voyage over to Cowes. We had food and drink in Cowes then slept on the yacht ready for a very early start the next day.

It isn’t to often you can actually say that you shared a race with the GB sailing squad and one of the biggest stars in formula one. This was the last port of call before team Skandia GBR goes to China. Lewis Hamilton was on the Hugo Boss boat. We started off and how we avoided not hitting anyone I don’t know. Heading towards the needles I saw a very special boat with children from the Ellen Macarthur Trust the Scarlet Oyster.

We got round the needles and seemed to have everything with us as the speed picked up. My role was more or less to back up anyone else who needed help. So when I was shifting from side to side and sitting on the rail when were tacking, I was trying to help pull ropes or sails in.

We finished 90th out of the 1800 plus boats that took part. In two weekends I had shared a sporting arena with some of the salt of the earth and some of the richest to. Some of the most elite sports men/women and some of the bravest to. I’ve learnt so much about myself and others, I’m not even half way through yet.

In case you didn’t know I spend a lot of my time fundraising on the ferry, during the course of doing this though I get to meet a lot of people. Some of these meetings can be quite emotional. It seems over the last couple of weeks I have met people who have different experiences with leukaemia. One very pretty lass in her early twenties thanked me, she had survived leukaemia when she was ten. Whilst rowing away I met one gentleman who had his children with him. He described to his children how his cousin died from leukaemia at the age of 26. Last summer someone thanked me because their daughter died at age of six from the disease. It was last weekend another one of these chance meetings struck me.

I met a family whose mother thanked me because they were going through leukaemia at the moment. When I enquired who she pointed to her young son running around on the floor. He was wearing a hat but from the parts of scalp you could see the hair was growing slowly back from chemo. I was taken a back by this young lad who seemed to be just enjoying himself on the Red Funnel ferry. I know a number of people who if they were that ill would close themselves off from the world. Instead this young man who was no older than ten was facing the world with gusto and courage. I recommended they look up the Ellen Macarthur Trust.

I don’t know this boys name so I named him Falcon because that was the name of the ferry I was on at the time. It seems this boy being just himself taught me a lesson that no piece of advice from any adult or expert could ever manage. I recently have been on the tail end of a bout of bullying to force me to sell my late mum’s house. Going though the process of selling has been a tough emotional trial. This is a place where my brothers terminal illness and mums cancer finished with their passing. On one occasion down stairs Andrew attempting to take his own life by cutting his throat in front of us. The chance meeting with this boy though, has now granted me the strength and courage to get through.

I have had to re adjust the schedule for charity events which, actually remains pretty much the same. Having to postpone the row around the Isle of Wight has thrown a spanner in the works. So it is as follows:

Row distance of Southampton to New York (5503.03km) On concept2 rowing machine (1st Jan to 9th August)

13th April London Marathon

June 1st – August 1st Spidermans 1800 mile solo sail around Britain

Leeds Jane Tomlinson’s Run for all

Row around the Isle of Wight July 2008 (Weather dependent)

Triathlon Dorney Lake Windsor (July)

JP Morgam sail around island 28th June

Calshot velodrome challenge August

UK Ironman 7th September 2008

Ride lands end to john o groats and back 9th Sept – 21st Sept

Rowers revenge october 2008

New York Marathon November

Note: so far Alaisdair has made it round to Ramsgate sailing after setting off on sunday.

Ok so i don't have so far to go with the challenge on the rowng machine, under 5,000 km to go. This weekend provided a bit of break from riding on top of the Red Funnel ferries. In preperation to row around the Isle of Wight myself and some students are going to row at the Ryde/Shanklin regattas. This basically involves rowing 1000m in a coastal four doing a bouy turn and then racing back another 1000m. The fours are the same as those we will use to row around the Island in. Enduring the seas around means a couple of things including getting up close and personal with the fith most recognised landmark in the UK - the needles!

At least it provides some distraction from the task of dealing with my Mum's estate and eventually selling the house. This is a place where i have witnessed suicide attempts, heartbreak and death. It can be a happy warm home for someone it's my task to lay the foundations for that.

In the mean time it's a case of selecting a good group of tunes to listen to whilst i train. A bit of rock, dance (garage or hardcore), pop and if all else fails the radio on my mp3 player.

The London Marathon one of the biggest participation one day sporting events in the world and a tough challenge. For me this one was going to be a battle to continue bringing back my mental toughness. It was also a chance to enjoy a larger than life event and watch some other very colourful colours.

I made my way up by train on Saturday with my friend Jon Sowden who was also running. The expo where you pick your numbers up is the size of an aircraft hangar. There are a number of different stands advertising clothes, events and also promoting charities. One of the race sponsors gave everyone the opportunity to put a personal message on a piece of card that matched the one your race number was on.

Mine simply read "For Mum, miss you Angus"

Afterwards I made my way to my friends flat in Clapham Junction. James an old university friend and his girlfriend Fini not only kindly put me up for the weekend but also fed me as well.

On Sunday I made my way to the start line by train, you know when your going in the right direction when hundreds of people with the same kit as you are on the same transport. Then you start to see some of the costumes other people are wearing. One guy, a well known fundraiser, was running in a huge robot costume on stilts.

We finally got underway and I settled into a nice pace. It does not really hit you until you get there how many people are running for good causes. Its also a rare event in terms of the support you get. Thousands of people came out to cheer you on and help you get through the course no matter where your from. Which is just as well because the weather was harsh for running something of that distance. I battled though the pain wasn't the barrier it was the constant replay of mums heart attack from cancer. You clung to the land marks such as tower bridge and almost pushed yourself off them. For a large part of the race I seemed to be followed by a guy in a sonic the hedgehog costume. I just couldn't shake him it seemed, very bizarre. It is a good idea to put your name on the front of your running vest, you get a lot more support.

Holding the medal was true testament to flexing my mental strength muscles. Looking around seeing those exhausted but relieved individuals with their medals let me know I had been part of something special.

Bring on the rest.

What a difference half an hour makes. The last time i graped the seat of my bike, my mothers heart attack from cancer happened within minuites after. I had move it about but because of the strong association with that morning would not touch the seat. I realised that in order to make a difference and complete my aims i would have no other choice.

I set it up in my rowing club Coalporters on the static trainer and cycled for half an hour. It was good after and i felt such a release. I have started putting a diary of fundraising events im attending this year, which include:

Row distance of Southampton to New York (5503.03km) On concept2 rowing machine (1st Jan to 9th August)

13th April London Marathon

Row around the Isle of Wight June 2008 (Weather dependent)

Evening Triathlon Dorney Lake Windsor (25th June)

Box end park longswim 3.8km swim 13th july

JP Morgam sail around island 28th June

UK Ironman 17th August 2008

Ride lands end to john o groats and back 6th Sept - 17th Sept

Rowers revenge october 2008

New York Marathon November

I spent half the Easter break rowing on the ferries, steadily covering my distance. I also managed to raise over £700. The running is finally improving, just in time for London. All good news as Easter was another tough first to get out the way.

So at the beginning of last week an opportunity presented itself. The company I work for, Skandia, was taking part in Sport Relief by having a dress down day on the Friday.

One of my colleagues suggested I set up a rowing machine up and collect from other members of staff. After a bit of digging around eventually I managed to arrange to set it up for the afternoon.

It was just deciding how to do it? I decided to do a marathon (26.2 miles), it was going to provide me with an idea about how fit I was for the London Marathon.

At 12.30am I started to row and kept going. Initially not many people showed interest but after a while donations were put in the bucket. After half way through the BBC showed up to film me later that day I appeared on South today and on Sunday the Mile show.

I finished three hours and 48 mins later. Afterwards I found out I was on the staff intranet with members of staff emailing me congratulating me on how I done.

It was good first step in raising awareness of this year’s mission and proved I was fit. The next step is plucking up the courage to get back on the bike ...