This year finds me already booked onto the Blenheim Triathlon (6 June) and then the Ironman 70.3 in Wimbleball (20 June), quite the jump from last years events but I’m up for the challenge.

The training has already started and is picking up pace. I knocked out my first swim and pleased to say I managed a mile. I need to work on consistency and trying not to swallow so much water, but definitely a stroke in the right direction.

If you’re are a swimmer at the Amersham pools I’m the pasty guy who seems to be drowning, so don’t be shy and give me a tow.

Until next time…when hopefully I have some better chat.

Stu

On the 30th August we took a group of 10 people camping to the Forest of Dean for open air fun and games, a days canoeing on the Ross-on-Wye and finally a high wire adventure Going Ape.

After a picturesque 3 hour country drive we all arrived safely at our campsite of choice with plenty of time to pitch tents and gather fire wood. After familiarising ourselves with the amenities (3 porter cabin toilets on the opposite side of the field) we set out to quench Paul’s need for sport by all joining in a couple of rounds of quick cricket. The early evening activities were of course washed down with a few tinnys before Giles served up his famous sausage pasta. As darkness set in and we could no longer draw warmth from the dying embers of our fire we all set down for a freezing nights sleep.

Awaking stiff, cold, aching and surprisingly high spirited we set off for the Ross-on-Wye river to begin our 15 mile canoe trip to Symonds Yat. Upon arrival we received the obligatory safety chat, our ever stylish life vests and our trusty paddles before climbing aboard our two men canoes and launching off in to waters unknown. After managing to avoid the evil swans, smelly ducks, and grazing cattle, whilst only being fuelled by a buffet of scotch eggs and other picnic snacks we eventually found the docking platform we had set out for. This took us some 9 hours in total, and although we were all shattered with wet feet and tired arms I’m proud to say it was only our clothes that were dampened and not our spirits. This could’ve been the booze, the amazing scenery or even the sight of Gary stripping off and jumping in to the freezing murky abyss! But the point is good times wee had by all and i think everyone of us would recommend the trip to friends.

Once we returned our canoes we headed back to base camp to freshen up for a well deserved pub dinner. After devouring fine ales and much deserved tasty grub we all crashed out early in preparation for a morning of high wire chaos.

We awoke at 7am in order to pack up camp and cook some bacon and egg sarnies before heading off to GoApe for a tree top adventure. Upon arrival to GoApe we were given a quick safety lesson before signing our life’s away so we could be let loose on the 5 stage course. Once the first stage was over (training platforms 3 feet off the ground) we all (some more sheepish than others) climbed the rope ladders up to the platforms built in and around the tree canopies of the forest. After making our ascent and plucking up the courage to actually opening our eyes we sore the task that stood before us. An adrenalin stirring assault course of zip lines, high wires, balancing poles, suspended tunnels and slippery cables guaranteed to test the nerves of most if not all who partook.

This was our last event before our final run and we hope those who have not sponsored us finally make 10 minutes to visit our Just Giving page (www.justgiving.com/dftba/) to donate money to UNICEF. We appreciate all donations so far and it would awesome if we could reach our target in time for the Royal Parks Half.

Thanks
Stu & Giles

We bring you two pieces of news in today’s post!

Firstly; the next event we’re doing is fast approaching and is taking place this bank holiday weekend! Happily we can say that after hours and hours of booze free running, cycling and swimming, we finally get to relax a bit. We’re off to Herefordshire where we’ll be setting up camp on the banks of the Ross-on-Wye.

There are 8 others joining us in the weekend’s frivolities. These will include a number of sports based games during the day, as well as an 18 mile kayak trip down the river and a visit to the local “Go Ape” centre, where we will find ourselves harnessed up and flung through the forest’s tree canopies in a test of both mental and physical resolve.

Watch this space for a full report on the weekend’s goings on next week once we’ve returned and recovered from the adventure!!

Secondly we’re happy to unveil that thanks to the generous donation by the chaps over at Bucks Trophy Centre in Wycombe, you will now receive a top notch, úber cool “Stu & Giles vs London” T-shirt if you sponsor us £35 or more! So, if you haven’t sponsored us already (but we’re sure you have!!!) there is now an excellent incentive to!

For those of you new to the blog please feel free to read the archived previous posts to gain a full understanding of what we are doing. In short, we are raising money for UNICEF and we need your help!!!

As always, thanks for reading!
Giles – oh and Stu

http://www.justgiving.com/dftba/

I met Tam at the start line at 9am and did a series of stretches before posing for our photo shoot and queuing up with the rest of the competitors for the starting gun.

Although not as busy as the London runs there were a fair few of us and surprisingly a few spectators along the way (even if they were boat folk having brunch). We worked our way down the tow path for the majority of the way only breaking from the river to make it past river side restaurants and housing.

I managed to lose Tam at a water station about 4 miles in so spent the majority of the run on my own talking to myself. 9 miles in and going strong. I was keeping to my 8 minute miles when disaster strikes and my hamstring pulls up from a tear 3 weeks previous. I managed to walk/jog/run/crawl the last few miles saving some beans for the sprint finish….. I couldn’t possibly walk when the crowds were watching.

I came in on roughly 1hr 54mins (still awaiting my official time) and Tam came in 2minutes later – which is exceptional considering she’d been given 2 weeks notice to the run.

We collected our medals, bananas and water before meeting our support crew (thanks Carrie, Sam & Giles) and making our way home for some lunch.

It is safe to say I’m glad to tick off another run and looking forward to the final run in October, when I’ll be reunited with Giles for the final push.

Thanks for reading and please sponsor us by visiting our Just Giving page.
Stuart & Giles

Paul drunkenly agreed to step in for Giles and managed to get in some minimal training before the ride. So I had a new rider but could we stay ahead of the rain? Would I lose another cyclist to A&E?

As it happened, we survived the weather keeping a step ahead of the rain all the way and we both made it safely to Southend-on-Sea. We conquered the journey in 3hrs 40mins fuelled by plenty of energy drinks and granola bars. Our support team (thanks Tam) met us in Priory Park and supplied a picnic for the journey home.

Click the link below to be directed to a video of our trip.

CHECK OUT MY VIDEO

Dig deep and sponsor us by clicking here or visit www.justgiving.com/dftba/

£20 could buy mosquito nets to protect 6 families from malaria.
£75 could help 10 families collect and store clean, safe water with the UNICEF family water kits.

Remember you are sponsoring the both of us for the current 5 event plan (maybe more) and we’ll keep you updated all the way.

Thanks
Stuart

Sunday 21st June sure came round quick but we’d both put the miles in our legs and more importantly our saddle. We had a huge carbolicious dinner the night before, and then Giles spent that morning drinking more Lucozade than is probably recommended!

We loaded up the bike rack and set the TomTom for Clapham Common. We arrived to find lots of other cars/vans/buses full of bikes unloading, and more Lycra than you would find at G.A.Y. We said goodbye to our lift (thanks Sam) and followed the other cyclists to the start gates.

We had a start time of 9.30am but due to the vast number of people taking part, didn’t manage to get away until 9.45am. We started well, but when we were just outside of London and started hitting the inclines, the bike traffic ground to a halt and we were forced from our saddles to walk with the rest of the cyclists.

It didn’t look good as we had started late and we had thousands of cyclists ahead of us; a good ride time was out the window so we need only finish to make the day a success. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be for Giles – as we were coming down one of large hills Giles lost grip on the back wheel and ended up going head over heels into a brick wall. Luckily for him he was wearing a helmet and camel back which both took most of the impact. He was whisked away to hospital in an ambulance and his bike was collected by the wreckage crew. He was later confirmed to have broken both his ankle and wrist and suffered a dislocated shoulder.

I had no idea that Giles had come off his bike and only realised once I’d arrived at the next town and he was no where to be seen. I waited half an hour before I received a call informing me what had happened. I continued on alone (… with 27,000 other cyclists) until I arrived in Brighton where thousands of spectators had taken to the sea front to watch.

2 events down and 3 more to go with the next event taking place this weekend – Sunday 19th July. I, with the help of Paul Milligan (thanks for drunkenly agreeing to that one Paul!) will be attempting the London to Southend bike ride – 59 miles, hopefully without incident!

So if 2 broken bones, a dislocated shoulder and 54 miles in the saddle isn’t worth giving some of your money to UNICEF I don’t know what is.

So come on guys stump up some cash and take a rain check on that Blockbuster rental or go without that last pint down the pub for a month. Visit our Just Giving site and donate!!!

http://www.justgiving.com/dftba/

Thanks
Stuart

Since 1980 when the British Heart Foundation first became involved with the London to Brighton Bike Ride, over 650,000 riders have taken part in the event and more than £40 million has been raised. This year as many as 27,000 riders will be cycling the scenic route between London and Brighton on the south coast. But how will we fair!?!

We’ll be joining the masses for a 9.30am start at Clapham, from there we’ll set off on the 54 mile journey south with nothing but man power, plenty of energy drinks and hopefully sunshine to keep us company. The route will take us roughly 4.5 hrs. Providing we can do all that without incurring injuries or too many flat tyres, we will arrive in Brighton where they will be greeted by thousands of spectators (as long as its not taken us too long to finish).

As we’ve previously blogged, this event is one of a number that the we are participating in this summer to raise money for UNICEF (click here). We’re doing this in the hope that people will show their support by leaving comments and sponsorship. Check back here on Monday for pictures and times.

Thanks and remember – don’t forget to be awesome.

Stuart & Giles

OK guys down to the nitty gritty of things. . .

~cue emotional music~

As we all know, life can be tough sometimes. I’m sure we’ve all experienced ups and downs. Some are worse than others and some certainly leave there mark. However, I’m also sure that the majority of us get through these low times relatively unscathed. Whenever I’m going through a rough patch, at the very least I know I have my friends, family, and my health to fall back on and guide me through.

For this reason we consider ourselves lucky people. Unfortunately though, there’s people in the world that aren’t as blessed as us. There are people that wake up day after day in complete poverty, no water, no food and no shelter. In many cases these people have no family to look after them, no community to call upon and no friends to pick them back up again.

Worst of all, these “people” are actually just children!  As if that weren’t bad enough, these kids are under constant threat from the HIV/AIDS pandemic that ruthlessly and without agenda, takes lives all around them.

Thankfully there is a little hope for these children.  That help comes in the form of UNICEF. A charity that makes sure these children receive the support, health care and education they need to survive the threats of childhood poverty and grow up to become healthy adults.  UNICEF insists that “the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress”.  We think that’s a pretty awesome statement. Certainly one worth doing a bit of work for!

So there we have it, a brilliant cause for extremely needy people! That’s why we’re doing this, and that’s why we’re going to ask for your help.  Please please please sponsor us!!! We’d be extremely grateful for your support and for absolutely any time or money that you can afford to give.

You can sponsor us by visiting our ‘Just Giving Page’ – CLICK HERE.

Be sure to tick the ‘Treat as Gift Aid’ box.  This is vital because it means that we can get more value for your sponsorship money without it costing you anything.

Thanks everyone and remember – don’t forget to be awesome!

Giles & Stuart

1. Water of life Half-Marathon – 22 March 09 – COMPLETED

2. London to Brighton bike ride – 21 June 09

3. London to Southend bike ride – 19 July 09

4. ‘Down Tow Up Flow‘ Thames Tow-path Half-Marathon – 26 July 09

5. Royal Parks Half-Marathon – 11 October 09

As you have probably noticed the first event has already taken place (see pictures below), but our training continues toward the next event. We plan to keep you updated with our training progress with future posts – so watch this space.

Thanks

Stuart & Giles

To give you, our supporters/sponsors, an insight to our training and experiences in raising money for charity. We have chosen to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon on the 11th October to support UNICEF and have given ourselves a joint target of £1500.

WHY are we doing this?

Hmmm, good question. Whilst trying to avoid sounding too cheesy, we wanted to give something back.  We’re both fortunate enough to be in good health and it is only when you take time to read about the less fortunate that life truely gets put in perspective.

Our work and your sponsorship will contribute toward UNICEFs global campaign Unite for Children, helping support orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS. We won’t go into details but if you wish to read further click here for more information.

WHO are we?