We're running the Great North Run for CHUF; the Children's Heart Unit Fund. CHUF's mission is to help children and young people with heart conditions, by providing lifelong support to them and their families. If you’d like to donate, please visit our JustGiving page.
Web developer Adam McCormick is currently training for the Great North Run. We caught up with him to find out why he wanted to take on the challenge, and how the training is going.
‘I’ve never been much of a runner,’ says Adam. ‘I used to want to be a professional footballer back in the day - well, I still would be now if I could. I play in a five-a-side team once a week, and it’s really enjoyable - but it isn’t much of a challenge anymore. So I’m swapping the football boots for running shoes.’
Adam hasn’t done the Great North Run before, ‘I remember signing up to do a 5k, and thinking ‘’this shouldn’t be too difficult, I run around the pitch all the time’’. I started and not even five minutes in I pulled a muscle in my calf. I kept going, and made it across the finish line, but I figured that this time I should probably put a bit more effort into training.'
Adam signed up to Strava, a website that the Transcendit team are using to track their progress. Each week we’ve been posting up their stats on the leaderboard - how many runs everyone has gone on, as well as the distance they’ve travelled and the elevation they’ve climbed. Adam says it’s helped him to get out there and start running.
‘I think, before I signed up to Strava, it was really easy to put off the training. You get back from work and just think, I’ll have some tea or watch some telly, and then before you know it it’s 10pm and you’ve not done anything. But with Strava, it’s really obvious that I’ve not been out on a run this week.’
‘I’m quite competitive, so I think that helps. I definitely don’t want to be at the bottom of the leaderboard. Although I’ve not made it to the top yet.’
Adam is really pleased to be running for CHUF, ‘It’s nice to run for a charity that you’ve got a relationship with, and that’s local to the North East. It does feel like you’re making a difference in your own community. I’m really glad that Transcendit have decided to run for them again this year.’
How is Adam feeling now that the Great North Run is getting nearer? ‘I feel alright about it. I think I could run the whole thing now without stopping, which is good. But I want to do it in a good time. I want to be fast. Or at least, not too slow.’
‘I think it’s good to keep challenging yourself with things. I wouldn’t have done this on my own, but doing it alongside other people from Transcendit is good. It’s making me want to give it my all.’
If you’d like to help children and young people with heart conditions, donate using our JustGiving page. Any and all donations help, and are much appreciated.
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