Running4Rwanda

It's December already, and that can only mean one thing - the Liverpool Santa Dash! The biggest, the best, and the funniest in the UK, and possibly the world! I've run it every year since it started back in 2004, making me one of only a handful of runners / joggers / walkers to have completed all 12 stagings. Many of the 10000 taking part will be raising money for charity, and I'm no exception. Once again I'll be raising funds for Shyira Trust, a small charity I helped set up in 2006. Since then we've raised over £300,000 for the various projects we support. This year, I'll be supporting the building of a new maternity hospital for Shyira in Rwanda. The old one that we funded has been so successful, and has had such a positive impact on maternal health, that it is full to overcrowding, and requires a new building. Please help Shyira Trust to continue its great work by donating any amount, big or small, to this great cause. Every penny received by Shyir...

More details soon, but in the meantime, there's a fundraising page at myDonate

After successful Run(s) and the Walk, the Ride was due to take place during September. Then, due to ill health, it was postponed until October. And then postponed for a second time due to bike problems. A second bout of illness, and the shortening days has made it impossible to plan a safe bike ride of more than 100 miles. So, with heavy heart, I have had to postpone the Ride part of the Run Walk Ride for Rwanda. Note that this is a postponement, not a cancellation, and it will take place at the earliest opportunity. There is even a possibility that it will take place in Rwanda - riding with the TeamRwandaCycling team from Ruhengeri in northern Rwanda, in February 2016. If it doesn't happen then, it will take place as soon as the days get long enough in March or April. So thank you for your support so far, and watch this space in the New Year. In the meantime, watch out for the annual extravaganza that is the Liverpool Santa Dash, on 6th December 2015

Thanks to everyone for supporting the 'Walk' leg of my Run, Walk, Ride 4 Rwanda challenge. Having done the 'Run' leg in July, I just managed to squeeze the walk into August, walking it on Monday 31st August. I caught the 6:56 train from Freshfield to Hunts Cross, then walked the near 27 miles back, mainly along the Liverpool Loop and Cheshire Lines paths. Starting walking just before 8am, I made steady progress, taking my first short break six miles later. Near Aintree, there was a short unscheduled stop when meeting a former work colleague, last met in 2001! Then more steady progress before taking a short lunch break having covered almost 19 miles in five hours. Up to this point the weather had been kind with just a few spots of rain very early on, but in the afternoon there was torrential rain, making the last 8 miles a bit slower, but still respectable, covered in less than two and a quarter hours. Thanks to everyone who has supported me, and made the journey ...

After cycling in the Scottish highlands, back to running. Or more accurately, running, walking and riding. Over summer I will be completing 182 miles - the distance of seven marathons - in a series of events: Run the BTR Liverpool Tour of Merseyside: six races in seven days, totalling 52 miles - a double marathon Walk the Liverpool Loop and Cheshire Lines paths from Hunts Cross to Formby - a marathon walk Ride to Southport and on to the Forest of Bowland and back via Preston - a quadruple marathon The events will take place during July, August and September, and I will be hoping from support along the way. More importantly I will be looking for sponsorship to help fund the rebuilding of Shyira Maternity Hospital. It needn't be much - I'm not expecting a pound per mile or anything like that, although £182 would be very welcome. Even a penny per mile would be welcome! So if you want to make a difference to the lives of women and their babies in Rwanda, please spons...

After 30 years of running, and 10 years of Running 4 Rwanda, a new challenge awaits - my first cycling even in aid of maternal health and safe motherhood in Rwanda. The Etape Caledonia is 82 miles in the Highlands of Scotland, starting and finishing in Pitlochry, Perthshire. Not much for a seasoned cyclist, but I'm not much of a cyclist, and definitely not seasoned, but I'm confident I'll get round. Please support me to help the funding of these projects in Shyira, Rwanda, by clicking the button on the right. Your support is vital, so please be generous. Thank you

Thanks to Ngunan Adamu of BBC Radio Merseyside for giving us the opportunity to talk about our work for maternal health and safe motherhood in Rwanda. We were invited to talk on her Upfront programme on November 30th about the projects and about our fundraising efforts, especially Running4Rwanda at the Liverpool Danta Dash. You can still be part of the action on Sunday. If you have not entered, there is still time. Or you can come into Liverpool on Sunday to be a spectator. Or failing that, you can sponsor us as we run for Rwanda. Our fundraising page for the Liverpool Santa Dash can be found on www.bmycharity.com Thank you for your support, and thank you for your generosity

December 1st, so less than a week to go to BTR Liverpool Santa Dash 2014. Thanks to everyone who has sponsored us so far, but there is still plenty of time to raise some more - go to our Bmycharity page to make a donation to fund maternal health and safe motherhood projects in Rwanda. Every penny raised will go to funding these vital projects, so please be generous

One of our regular supporters can't make it to the Liverpool Santa Dash this year, but still wants to support us, so has come up with an alternative method of raising funds for the Maternity Hospital and Safe Motherhood projects in Shyira, Rwanda - he has given up shaving, and is growing his very own Santa 'tache ! Martin Baxter has run most of the Liverpool Santa Dashes since its start, but this year he will be growing a Santa beard and a Santa 'tache instead. He has given up shaving during November, so by the time December comes round he will have a beard to rival any on show at the Liverpool Santa Dash. If you would like to reward his solo effort, he has set up a fund-raising page on www.bmycharity.com , so please support him as he supports Maternal Health in Rwanda

It's back! Liverpool Santa Dash - the biggest Santa Dash in Britain, and maybe the World ! From humble beginnings in 2004, the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash has grown year on year to become the phenomenon that brings over 8000 Santas to the centre of Liverpool. And for 2014, the biggest and best promises to be even bigger and better on its 10th anniversary - the BTR Liverpool Santa Dash is aiming to bring over 10000 Santas to the centre of Liverpool, many of them raising funds for charity. I have run in every BTR Liverpool Santa Dash, and once again, I will be running for Shyira Trust, raising funds for the Maternity Hospital and Safe Motherhood projects in Shyira, Rwanda. In previous years we have had a team, as many as 15, but this year there may be just me. But however many we have running, we will have fun, while Running for Rwanda. If you would like to help, you can, and you have two choices - you can join me, get sponsorship, and we can all run for Rwanda. Alternatively, t...

Walking was supposed to be the easiest of the three disciplines - but it has proved to be the most difficult :-( Not the actual walking, but sorting out the logistics. I had planned to start at Penrith and walk the route of the Roman road to Ambleside, but it has proved more difficult than originally planned. The plan was to stay in Ambleside, get public transport to Penrith, then walk back via High Street. Unfortunately, the bus timetable changed over summer, so what had started as a viable arrangement became impractical. We still managed to do a walk from Ambleside - the Fairfield Horseshoe - but not anywhere near long enough to be classed as a challenge. We also did 40-odd miles of the St Paul Trail in Turkey, but that was spread over 6 days of walking, so again, not quite the challenge I had in mind. It was moderately difficult, but nothing like as hard as I had hoped for when I set myself the target, so for now, I am going to abandon the RunWalkRide4Rwanda supporti...

That's bike riding, not horse riding! And not quite the 48 miles planned, but still my longest bike ride since ... well, ever. And not content with making it a long ride, it was also a hard ride, at the hottest time of the hottest day of the year. Just a fortnight after my running exploits, I set off from just outside Keswick heading towards Grasmere, then through Ambleside. Turning towards Troutbeck is the notoriously steep Holbeck Lane - not as bad as some of the Lakeland passes, but probably the steepest climb I've ever ridden. Then the long slow drag up Kirkstone Pass to the Kirkstone Inn, and a welcome break for lunch. Tempting as it was to spend the afternoon there, the route then goes down the other side towards Glennridding. If climbing up was hard work, then hurtling down was scary. Along Ullswater, then a sharp left, and another long slow drag to Dockray, then heading towards the other Troutbeck. A couple of diversions to avoid the busy A66, then Threlkeld and the...

Well that's the running legs out of the way - more than half of the BTR Liverpool Tour of Merseyside done. It was hard work, but good fun in a painful sort of way. Tuesday's 10 mile run took place along the Sustrans cycle trail from Walton Hall Park. Heading South along the disused railway line, the route reached Broadgreen before returning to the start. A further mile or so North, then turning again to return to the start point. I'm not sure of the accuracy of the course, but a time of 1hr 14min was my fastest 10 miler of the year, and my best for a long time. 49th overall, 42nd male, so not too bad Thursday's 5 mile race around Hale seemed harder - probably because I was still feeling the effects from Tuesday. I last ran this race about 15 years ago, and it hasn't got any easier! Slower than hoped for, but 37min put me in 69th position, 62nd male. Saturday is usually my chance to have a lie-in - not this week! I needed an early start to get to New Brighton f...

It's taken a while, but I've finally decided what to do to celebrate 30 years of running. In fact, it's taken me so long to decide, that it's actually just about to start. I had thought about running 30 miles, but on medical advice I can no longer do 'endurance' events - i.e. I can't run a Marathon, or anything over about a half-marathon Then I thought about walking 30 miles, but that would probably take too long. Or cycling 30 miles - probably not enough of a challenge. So why not somehow combine all three? So that's the plan - run about 30 miles, but split over three events; walk a similar distance; then ride my bike, but over double the distance. The final details of the walk and the bike ride still need a bit of working out, but here's the running leg(s): Tour of Merseyside Race 3 - 10-mile Sustrans cycle trail from Walton Hall Park Tour of Merseyside Race 4 - 5-mile Halton Road Race around Hale Tour of Merseyside Race 6 - 12-mile Wir...

Making a change from running and cycling, something a bit more sedate, but every bit as challenging - walking 27 miles for Rwanda. Three supporters of Shyira Trust will be embarking on their challenge on Saturday 26th April. They will be walking in the Lake District, from just outside Keswick, via Grasmere, Elterwater and Coniston to Lowick. From their fund-raising website: Three of us will be walking 27 miles to raise money to help to extend/rebuild the maternity hospital in Shyira. Ten years ago, the maternity building was replaced and two midwives trained. The result has been a dramatic reduction in the death rates of both mothers and babies. It's an inspiring story, check out the website, however more needs to be done. Now the maternity hospital is overcrowded as more and more people want to benefit from the expertise and dedication of the staff and the building has to be extended or rebuilt to maintain safe conditions. All the money raised will go to the maternity hospital...

So that's it for another year - the 10th Liverpool Santa Dash has been and gone. As usual it was the usual mix of athletes, fun-runners, walkers and people just out to raise money for their favourite cause. And what a mixture it was - adults, children, people pulling sleighs, dogs dressed as reindeers, men dressed as fairies, people calling at pubs for mid-race refreshments - you name it, Liverpool Santa Dash has it all, and here are some images to prove it. The jury is still out on whether the 2013 Liverpool Santa Dash has reclaimed its crown as the biggest Santa Dash in the world, but one thing is certain - a lot of money was raised for good causes, and a lot of people will be back next year for more. The amount raised for safe motherhood and maternal health projects in Rwanda currently stands at £170 plus Gift Aid, with some more still to come. Online donations are still welcome at www.bmycharity.com/santa2013 and every penny raised, plus Gift Aid, will go towards the saf...

Well it's not number 1 or 2 which I've had in previous years. It's not even number 13, which I've had twice! This year's number is 5721! Nothing special then, except that it shows just how popular the Liverpool Santa Dash really is! And there are still a few days to get those numbers up to last year's figure of over 8000. If past years are anything to go by, there will be a couple of thousand entering in the last week, so the record is within reach. Most will be running for charity, and some will be running for Rwanda. If you would like to help us to support midwifery training, maternal health, and safe motherhood projects in Rwanda, please sponsor us at www.bmycharity.com/santa2013 Thank you for your continued support. Without people like you, we would not have been able to achieve the things we have done over the last 12 years.

If you are thinking of entering Liverpool Santa Dash 2013, there is still time to enter in person, but online entries closed at mid-day on November 20 th . You can enter in person at btrLiverpool's office at Hatton Garden. In the run-up to the 2013 Liverpool Santa Dash, btrLiverpool's office is open Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 5.30pm, and on Saturday30th November, from 9.30am to 4.00pm Get your skates on - then get your Santa Suit on !

It's back! Liverpool Santa Dash - the biggest Santa Dash in Britain, and maybe the World ! From humble beginnings in 2004, the Liverpool Santa Dash has grown year on year to become the phenomenon that brings over 8000 Santas to the centre of Liverpool. And for 2013, the biggest and best has got even bigger and better - the Liverpool Santa Dash 2013 has once again teamed up with ITV's Text Santa appeal, and is aiming to bring over 10000 Santas to the centre of Liverpool raising funds for charity. Once again, I will be running for Shyira Trust, raising funds for Maternal Health, Midwifery Training and Safe Motherhood projects in Rwanda. In previous years we have had a team, as many as 15, but this year there may be just me. However many we have running, we will have fun, while Running for Rwanda. If you would like to help, you can, and you have two choices - you can join me, get sponsorship, and we can all run for Rwanda. Or, to help me raise much-needed funds for Mat...

Not content with climbing Kilimanjaro in aid of Shyira Trust, now Chantelle Winstanley has taken on another challenge to support Maternal Health in Rwanda. On 4th August, she will be jumping on her trusty two wheels and taking to the streets of London and Surrey for her first road cycling sportif - the London-Surrey 100 - ridden over the course of the Olympic road race. As a novice cyclist, she sees the prospect of this huge event as both exciting and daunting! And if 100 miles of pedal power isn’t exciting enough, the week after the race she’ll be heading out to Rwanda to learn, share and work as a midwife with the people of Shyira. She says "I feel extremely privileged to be visiting the community to see first-hand how this small charity has transformed the lives of the people in this part of Rwanda". Like all visitors travelling to Rwanda on behalf of Shyira Trust, her trip is self-funded on a voluntary basis. Every penny raised by Shyira Trust goes to the intended p...