Mike Kilpatrick's Fundraising Page

SECOND UPDATE

Many thanks for all the donations. To raise over $1000 is just fantastic. Training in the weeks leading up to the 10.5kms was pretty terrible. I hadn't been feeling well for a number of weeks, and my activity levels had dropped to virtually zero. Still, on the day it all turned out pretty well. I did the 10.5kms in 1 hour and 14 minutes - a whole minute under my initial target. I would like to say that I ran the whole thing - but I ran further than I have ever run before, and was able to make the last few kms by walking and running for a little while each. A humbling experience and one I'm keen to build on for next year!

Thanks to everyone for all the e-mails, support, help and to all the people cheering us on during the race yesterday. The feeling when crossing the line was something I'll never forget.

Mike
30th October 2006

UPDATED

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far. My training has been up and down but I'm still hopeful of running the full 10kms. I've now hit the grand mark of 30kgs total weight loss, so at least that side of things is going well. I'm literally 11/50ths of the man I used to be!

Again, thank you for all the donations - and if you haven't donated yet, please consider making a donation to this wonderful cause.

Read on to find out about my motivations:

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 decided to run the 1/4 distance Auckland Marathon for one reason and one reason alone. It was a goal I set myself in my desire to keep losing weight and to become fit again. However, when I saw the opportunity to also raise some money for charity I jumped at the idea. The fact that it was the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand made it an even easier choice. The reason for that is two-fold:

1) My father-in-law has suffered from heart disease since his first heart attack when he was 39. I've seen how heart disease can impact on families and anything that helps with the understanding, prevention or cure of heart disease is worthwhile.

2) As much as I would not have been able to admit it just 14 weeks ago, I can now. I was killing myself. Every piece of pizza I put in my mouth. Every mouthful of fizzy drink I was swallowing. Every savoury chip that passed my tonsils. Every time I gave up the opportunity to exercise to watch television. I was killing myself. I was guaranteeing that I would not reach the average age of a male New Zealander. And I was accepting it. I tipped the scales at 136kgs and was putting myself at a huge risk of a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease. And I'm only 31 years old.

Wednesday the 5th of April was the day that it started. It's impossible to say exactly which straw broke the camel's back. Was it the comments people made (with the best of intentions)? Was it the desire to ensure my 2 children have a father in the long-term? Was it the tightness of the trousers around the waist? Or any of the other reasons for losing weight? I think it was probably a combination of the lot. Regardless, that was day 1 of the rest of my life. I wrote myself a list of rules and I went for it the old-fashioned way - eat less, eat better and exercise. No Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig this time around. Some of the rules have been bent, but I've had only 1 day out of those 14 weeks in which I haven't eaten healthily or to the standard in which I've set myself. And I'm 23kgs lighter because of it. I'm now at the lowest I've weighed since the early half of the 1990s. Trousers are fitting better. Shirts I've never worn fit me well. And the motivation was starting to wean just a little. So with determination, I brooched the subject of spending $55 dollars with my wife (never a comfortable subject!). She agreed immediately, and I'm convinced that $55 will see me through the next phase of weight loss. I've got 33kgs to go to get to my desired weight. I've now given myself another 15 weeks of pure motivation which will see at least another 15kgs of weight loss. Come October 29th 2006, I'll weigh under 100kgs for the first time since I was at school. I'll be prepared to run for 10kms without stopping. And I'll be raising money for a charity that counts.

So, help me as I join the race to beat heart disease. 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 (by training for and completing the event), but I really need you to make a difference.

So, please could you sponsor me?

Select the "Make a donation" button on the right-hand side of the site. 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 also tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

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

Many thanks for your support.

Mike