Beer, Charity and a Crazy Decision to Run

On Sunday I trudged my weary aching body around the 13.1 mile Great North Run, each step sent stabbing pains through my hip and up into the depths of my mind, piercing the very part of my brain that decided that running this was a good idea. I remember that day, sitting at a beer festival watching young people laughing and having fun and realising that one of those young people was my son. And I remembered the day I carried my son into the A&E department of our local hospital as he meandered from incoherence to unresponsiveness. And I remembered the matter of factness with which the duty doctor informed us that he had suffered a vertebral artery dissection which had resulted in him suffering three strokes as the blood flow to the cerebellum was blocked by tiny. almost invisible clots. It was this day dreaming in a beer soaked marquee tent that somehow convinced me to enrol for this run some 15 years after I had last completed it. I could not imagine a more worthy cause than to raise money for The Stroke Association, so armed with an apple iPhone and a fair amount of naive stupidity I enrolled myself and somehow convinced myself that it would be easy.

Months passed and the race day went from being a date somewhere in the future to a few days away in what seemed like no time at all. If I am perfectly honest I would have backed out but for one very major reason....so many kind, generous and caring people had donated so much of their money, selflessly supporting my cause. I was and continue to be so grateful to each and every person who gave their hard earned money to support this cause that is so close to my heart. I am pleased to say that now 4 1/2 years later my son Jordan Stevenson is healthy and strong and is now engaged to his beautiful fiancee and I cannot wait to be at his wedding next year. As for me, I am nursing my aching stiff legs and although my time of 4 hours 20 minutes is nothing to shout about I am probably more proud of completing this particular race than any other I have completed. As for next year I'd like to misquote Sir Steve Redgrave ever so slightly..."If you ever see me at a beer festival again I'd like you to shoot me"