MDS 2009 - Keith

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Quiz Night

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

It's the only word to describe the evening that was, Team HotRunning's Pub Quiz.

Our first attempt at a fundraiser was fantastic; a pub quiz seemed to be the easy option to start the ball rolling.
Got the venue, got the quiz master all that's required are some raffle prizes and plenty of bums on seats!!

The bums on seats part was a complete learning curve. If I'm being honest we should have been better organised, we initially relied on some posters and word of mouth, we then tried to issue tickets, we finally gave up trying to manage the numbers and were happy to invite anyone willing to attend.

This was almost a disaster, as we had no real idea of how many folks would turn up. Everybody seemed interested, but would they really want to come out to the pub on a wet Monday night?

OH YES. And then some.

We were advised to try for 38 teams of between 3-5 people. In our usual style we saw this as a challenge, the pub record was 43 teams in a sitting, we blew that apart with an amazing 47 teams. In theory this sounds great, until you come to the issue of tables and chairs.

At one stage I saw people writing their answers on their team sheet while leaning on the back of the person standing in front!! With no exceptions everybody just mucked in and got on with the night, and everyone was very VERY generous when it came time to buying some raffle tickets.

We had some very generous donees for raffle prizes and auction gifts, with a special mention to Gail Scott proprietor of Cielo Heavenly Lingerie, 38 West Port, Dundee. Gail, a family friend, has just started in business earlier this year, caught everyone's attention (particularly the blokes!!) with her generous voucher donation for some posh underwear. No surprises that this voucher realised a very quick profit for team hotrunning!!

Our thanks go to all those who added to our raffle and auction it was very much appreciated.

In no time at all the evening was over and I found myself doing the vote of thanks on behalf of James (who was propping up the bar!) and Jimmy (who was travelling to India). We knew we had raised a lot of money but found it impossible to count accurately on the night. An estimate of £2000 was suggested.

A re-count the next day showed a total of just over £1700. A great achievement.

I would like to thank everyone who attended, The Fort Bar for hosting us, John the quiz master, our raffle/sponsor donees and finally and most importantly all my family and friends who piled in to assist on the night, without them it wouldn't have happened.

Cheers

Keith
www.hotrunning.net

Monikie Duathlon

I was a bit concerned about this one. It's the longest duathlon I've attempted and with a fairly poor preparation I wasn't particularly confident standing on the start line. It was also noticeable that the standard of the entrants in this race was much higher than any other race I've entered. Of the forty-two starters the majority were club affiliated and if nothing else certainly looked the part!!

The course was a 10km run followed by a 40km road bike followed by a further 5km run.

I would liken the weather to a vindaloo curry - hot and windy, not ideal when you’re a broad 6ft 2" pasty white boy!!

Suitably saturated in factor 30 sun cream followed by a gentle warm up we were off. Immediately the gulf between the levels of participants was evident, I was steady and controlled in my pace as I watched the majority of entrants disappear into the distance, the only problem with running around a reservoir is the they never actually disappear from view which means that you have the sole destroying pleasure of watching the front runners finishing the first stage as you're at half way!!

I used James as my pace man, he gradually eased away from me but this is usual for most running events particularly over a 10km distance. I was reasonably pleased to see James leaving the transition as I was just approaching it.

I was glad to be on the bike, I'm much happier cycling than running, however this was short lived for the biggest enemy of a cyclist, other than inconsiderate motorists, is the wind, and we were pretty much into the wind from the start.

I passed a few riders which always gives you a boost during the 40 km cycle course, unfortunately the end of the course finishes on a particularly steep hill leading from Newbigging to Monikie, this meant that on dismounting from my bike I could barely walk never mind run the next 5km.

If I wasn't so sore/knackered I would have said it was comical trying to jog/trot around the last section. I was dreadfully slow but quite simply couldn't move any faster. I once again caught a glimpse of James, which pleased me, as I knew I hadn't lost much time to him. By the time I crossed the finish line I was exhausted, a combination of the distance effort and weather. However I guess if you're not knackered at the end of a race you haven't been trying!!

My times were as follows,

10km run: - 45:37
40km Cycle: - 1:28:50
5km run: - 27:12

Total time 2:41:38
Average heart rate: - 171 bpm
Maximum heart rate: - 185 bpm
Total Calories: - 3751

I finished 30th of 42. With James 6mins 21secs quicker and in 27th position.
Overall I was pleased that I had gone the distance in race conditions.

Bring on the Loch Ness Marathon!!!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

If you don't ask you don't get!!

As I mentioned in my previous blog we at team hotrunning have been working on a side project, which I am now in a position to announce. As part of our fund raising strategy we must present ourselves as professional and credible as possible.

The thing is, we know we are committed and determined and will succeed in our goals, however, it is very difficult to persuade complete strangers of this, especially if you are trying to get them to put their hands in their pockets!!

Through an act of fate, we happened to be in a position to develop possible team patron's, you know? a famous name who would support our project, offer advice and assist us with our fundraising objectives.

Typically, we at team HotRunning are not content with having any old famous names speaking on our behalf, oh no, so it gives me great pleasure to announce that the official team patrons are,

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the worlds greatest living explorer.

and

Dr. Mike Stroud, explorer and world authority on survival in extreme conditions, endurance and nutrition.

Thank you to both Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr Mike Stroud.

A special thanks to Billy, you know who you are!! Without your assistance and sheer brass neck, this would not have been possible.

James will edit our web-site www.hotrunning.net to explain the significance of our patrons and the words of wisdom they have offered.

The adventure continues, I've no idea where it will take us next but I am enjoying the ride!!

Cheers

Keith
team@hotrunning.net