12 Marathons
12 Days
Why ‘A’ and why ‘B’?
For those of you asking why Aberystwyth and Broadstairs, I told the press that “I cycled from John O’Groats to Land’s End in 9 days to celebrate my 50th birthday a few years ago and also wanted to do something to mark 50 years as a diabetic.
The idea of a coast to coast run came to me as I was cycling down the Great Glenn fault. I first thought it should be an A to Z run in acknowledgement of my love of maps but after a brief hunt I couldn’t find anywhere in the UK beginning with a ‘Z’. Fortunately, there were plenty of ‘B’s’ and one in Kent which was close enough to where I live, so it became A to B.
The A was chosen as Aberystwyth because my mum was born and brought up in Aberystwyth, I spent many happy summers there as a child, the geology department at Aberystwyth University used to be one of the best in the country and my youngest son is a graduate of Aberystwyth University also”.
Ready to take the next step?
I’m doing this for fun, but I assure you I’m not the only ‘Nutter’ as my friends put it. I’ll be accompanied by a few other former colleagues and geology fanatics along the route (Barny Brennan, John Chamberlain, Garry Perratt and Walter Busuttil).
Although it’s for fun, I also wanted to raise the profile of Juvenile diabetics, also known as Type 1, insulin dependent diabetics. I want to show that being a diabetic shouldn’t stop you from doing things.
I told the press that when I graduated from Aston University’s geology department I was offered two jobs as an offshore mud logger in the energy industry. I was all ready to attend the offshore survival training in Aberdeen when I told the employer I was diabetic.
Back then in 1988, I’d come straight out of university without any petroleum knowledge, so I didn’t know diabetics couldn’t work offshore. I called them to get flight details and thought I should tell them I was diabetic. As soon as I told them, the phone went dead and I had to find a plan B! I continued by finding work-arounds in the upstream industry, and being diabetic hasn’t stopped me.
I’m raising funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and have set up a funding page (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/a2b50) which I hope everyone finds easily.
Despite my early experiences, I’ve never considered diabetes a disability; sure, it’s a real pain in the ass, but it shouldn’t stop you from trying or doing something - hence my great friends supporting me.