42k is too far… :(

Me after a run (looking buggered). If I look a bit green it's cos I ate 5 truffles before the run!!

Hello everyone!!

Update:
I have had to pull out of the marathon and change to the 10k walk :(. I am GUTTED! I have basically got RSI of the group of muscles attached to and surrounding my hip and if I run over about 7k I am in heaps of pain. I am seeing a physio and sports doctor and they told me I needed to pull out (and I had come to that conclusion anyway based on the pain!). I am entering the 10k walk instead which will still be a challenge because as dad can probably tell you I REALLY hate walking!! It's too slow… :)
I hope none of you feel like you have donated under false pretences - I promise I did a whole heap of training and got up to 30k (which was just over three hours of non-stop running!!) and hopefully I can try again for a full marathon in the future. For those of you who were planning to donate but hadn't yet please still do. Heart disease is such a big problem in New Zealand and the heart foundation needs continued donations and support to keep doing the job they are doing.
Thanks guys, and I will send another update soon :)

Original page:
Well, those of you who know me know that I have a tendency to be a wee bit of an energiser bunny and also possibly a wee bit impulsive… (Stop laughing!)

Well, these two things combined led me to decide to sign up to run the FULL marathon (42k, gulp…) in October of this year in Auckland. Then I thought - well if I am going to do it anyway, maybe there is a way to get some benefit out of it for someone else? (And encourage me to keep going too…)

Each day 16 New Zealanders die as a result of coronary heart disease. That’s one person every 90 minutes. And many of these deaths are premature and preventable.

Cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke & blood vessel disease) is the single leading cause of death in New Zealand. It causes 40 percent of all deaths annually in our country - making it more deadly than all forms of cancer.

The nature of who is affected by it is changing. New research shows that young adults in their 20s and 30s are being admitted to hospital for heart attacks than ever before, and that this age group is dying at a faster rate than people of the same age in previous generations. Much of this change is due to unhealthy lifestyles - poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and being a smoker.

But the good news is that many risk factors for heart disease are preventable, if people make healthy lifestyle choices.

I’ve signed up as a Heart Racer to raise money to support The National Heart Foundation of New Zealand. By donating through my webpage you will be helping the Heart Foundation continue its vital work in research, cardiac rehabilitation, education programmes and resources.

I’ll do all the hard work (train for and complete the event), but I really need you to make a difference to the hearts of New Zealanders.

So, please could you sponsor me?

Select the ‘Make a donation’ button below. It’s simple, fast and totally secure and the money goes directly to the Heart Foundation’s bank account.

If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

So please help me today! And pass it on to everyone you know!

Thank you all so much for your support.

Love from Laura