Running4Rwanda

I hope the running is going OK - we've had some quiet days, with hardly any miles recorded, and some really busy days. All these Bank Holidays seem to be playing havoc with people's schedules, and some of you are understandably treating yourselves to some post-marathon rest. The good news this week is that we've passed our next milestone of 833 miles, which has taken us across the French Riviera at Juan-les-Pins / Cap d'Antibes and out over the Mediterranean - and appropriately enough, this occured over Easter weekend. Why is this appropriate? Well, way back when, when I was a half-decent runner, I used to go to the South of France for some warm-weather training with club-mates, staying just outside Antibes, and most years we went at Easter. And every year, we included a training run which took us from Antibes, to Juan-les-Pins, round Cap d'Antibes, and back to the beach at Antibes for a cooling dip. We are now 938 miles into our journey, so are somewhere off ...

Mixed news from the weekend, so let's get the bad news out of the way first. On Saturday morning, my 13 day running streak came crashing to earth with a bang - literally - so I've had a couple of days of enforced rest. Moral of the story (1): If you go out for an early morning run without breakfast, make sure you are properly hydrated, and use the right energy drink. Moral of the story (2): If you bang the back of your head against the pavement, it won't be the pavement that gives way. Right, on to the good news: We had 3 runners in the London marathon - Rebecca with a PB of 4:17; Nadhim just outside his PB with 3:58; and doing his 3rd marathon in 3 week-ends, Matt in 3:57. Well done, one and all. And well done to everyone who is putting in high mileage in preparation for other upcoming marathons and half-marathons - your miles are getting us further and further across France. At the last count, we had accumulated over 700 miles, to take us beyond Grenoble. Our ne...

After months of planning (well, a couple of days, at least), our small group of runners took the first steps on the long road to Rwanda. Starting on 1st April, we intend to cover the equivalent of running the distance from Formby in the North-West, to Shyira in North-West Rwanda - a total of 4245 miles, as the crow flies. Along the route, we'll cross the English coast at Eastbourne, crossing into France near Dieppe, passing Paris en-route to Monaco and Corsica. Then, after crossing the Mediterranean, we'll traverse Libya, Chad, Sudan, Central Africa Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo, before entering Rwanda for the last few miles to Shyira. Hopefully, we'll pick up a few more runners along the way - the more the merrier, and the quicker we'll reach our goal. If you'd like to join us, just sign up , and I'll get all the relevant details to you. If you like what we're doing, but don't fancy doing the running, just click here to support us. ...

Almost time to get started, just need to get all the links together. The idea is simple - make a donation and register for the event at R2RSignUp , then from 1st April, log all your running miles (spreadsheet coming soon). If we get enough people running enough miles, we'll soon run the 4245 miles from Formby to Shyira! If you don't fancy the running part, but still want to support the team, please visit R2RSupport - all the money goes to help safe motherhood and midwifery training projects in Shyira, Rwanda. Donating through these pages is simple, quick and secure (but beware the default donation amount!). And if you are a UK taxpayer and give Gift Aid consent the charity will receive an extra 28% at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.

First there was Running for Rwanda, then Running in Rwanda - next: Running TO Rwanda. Not solo, and not physically, but a sort of virtual relay, so I'm looking for volunteers to help me run the distance between Formby and Shyira - 4245 miles as the crow flies. It doesn't matter how far or how fast you can run - if you can put one foot in front of the other, every mile is a mile nearer to the target. So whether you run 10 miles a day, 10 miles a week, or even if you struggle to run 10 miles in a month, you can be part of the Rwandathon. Of course, the whole idea is to raise funds for midwifery training and safe motherhood projects in Shyira, Rwanda, so I'm asking everyone who joins up to make a donation to Shyira Trust. I'm suggesting a minimum of £5 - where else can you take part in a 4625 mile run for a fiver? I'm still putting the finishing touches together, so watch this space. If I can get enough people to volunteer, I plan to kick it off next week (Apri...

Great news from Shyira! In 2010 there were no maternal deaths at the maternity hospital - the first time this has ever happened. It's also the first full year that Robinah has been working as a qualified midwife. Coincidence? I don't think so. Who says you can't make a difference? Look out for new events in the near future - you can help make a difference

Yes - you read it right - we are currently in Rwanda. And I'm taking the opportunity to go running - a bit of altitude training! We are visiting the various projects we are involved with, but mainly the maternity hospital. It's good to catch up with Robinah, whose midwifery training we sponsored, and Fidel who we are currently sponsoring. Robinah qualified at the end of 2008, and had her graduation ceremony in Spring 2009. Since then, she has been working in Shyira, as the only qualified midwife. She is currently being assisted by Fidel who qualifies at the end of this year. Between them, they make a great team, and are making a great difference to the health and well-being of mothers in Shyira and the surrounding areas.