A Swift 1k - half-time update!

A running photo per month (or thereabouts): the beach here at Filey, my local 'track'....

So I'm (more than) six months into my A Swift 1K challenge: to run (and cycle) 1K - i.e. 1000 kilometres - in 12 months, raising money for the wonderful folk who make up the Sheffield Swift Network. (To find out why I'm raising money for them and what they do, have a quick read here).

The riverside track along my bird survey site at Killingholme, Lincolnshire - a regular and peaceful (and much appreciated) place to run between wader counts.....

So, how's it going? Well, the fundraising - which I only kicked off a few weeks ago - has been amazing. The reaction has been humbling and I can only thank all you good people who have generously coughed up so far. My initial target of £1k was surpassed in no time, and I'm now not too far shy of £2k! So, I'm feeling positive and hopeful enough to have just raised my overall target to £3000.....

Lerwick, Shetland - a great place to run last month

A frosty morning run in Masham out in the Yorkshire Dales in late April (my last run of my 40's....)

I was a little concerned that, off the back of raising money for Turtle Doves last year and several other projects just previously, that there might be signs of 'giving fatigue' - apparently not, which is kind of wonderful. But then I do still have a few months to really up the annoyance ante.....

Cold, hard runs in the woods of Western Massachusetts back in early spring.....

So how about the actual physical challenge? Good and bad. Thanks in no small part to motivation provided by so many lovely people giving so much brass thus far, the running - the hardest part, for me at least - is on course. To date I've managed just over 300km in six and a half months; i.e. not far off being on schedule for my overall running target of 600km in the 12-month period. The other 400km+, though, is another matter, and it looks like a I'm going to have a lot more time on the bike through the winter if I'm going to reach my target....

.... and hot, hard runs in the same place in midsummer

Since I began the challenge back on the 1st March, I've run anywhere and everywhere I possibly could; while this is most often the beach here in Filey, I've clocked up the miles on my Humber surveys at Killingholme, Lincolnshire (many times), in Greenfield, Massachusetts, at the family homestead in the woods of Warren, Massachusetts, at Spurn Bird Observatory, East Yorks, in and around Lerwick, Shetland....

A particularly enjoyable run in the drizzle on the north coast of Yell, Shetland in the summer

.... at Masham in the Yorkshire Dales, in the countryside of Dordogne, France, in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, on the north coast of Yell, Shetland, and in Saxton's River, Vermont. With a few more trips planned in the next few months, I'll be adding to the list further as the second half rolls on....

In the wilds of Aberdeenshire, against many a swaying carpet of vibrant Rosebay Willowherb

As an aside, the timing of this post is perfect - after several years actively running, I ran my first ever sub-25 minute 5K yesterday. For many fitter, healthier types reading this, it's hardly a big deal - but it's all about context, and to this 50 year-old asthmatic with osteoarthritis, (genetic) high cholesterol and a life history pointedly lacking any meaningful exercise, it's a very big deal.... when I started running, bringing in a 5K in under half an hour was a lofty but realistic target. We've come a long way since then :-)

... and back here on the beach, where I get to jump straight into the sea after running on warm days. Bliss! 

So that's where I'm at as we welcome in the autumn proper. I'm generally happy with my progress so far, but the tough part is very much still to come. I've hundreds of kilometres to eat up over the next few months, and it'll only get colder, darker and wetter from here. So, any guilt/motivation/inspiration - in the form of hard cash! - is very welcome at this point :-) Help save our Swifts here, and thank you!