By Mark Ormrod
Last year it’s fair to say that I got a bit carried away with the charitable fundraising. I’m not quite sure how I was talked into it, but in one year I did a 1000-metre open-water swim, a 100-mile bike ride (ok it was 99.9 miles, but gimme a break…) and a 5k run.
To be honest I love a good challenge, and I guess I thought if we can raise a bit of money and help some people along the way, then it’s a win/win. But I had no idea how hard it was going to be.
Well, maybe I should have known. Going 100 miles on a bike isn’t exactly a picnic when you’ve got two fully functioning legs, but doing it with just your left arm is brutal.
But all the pain was worth it for sure. We are now close to raising £600,000 and this year we want to take that total past a million. That would be incredible because the more we raise, the more people we can help, simple as that.
Speaking of help, this is where you come in. The only reason I’m blowing my own trumpet about what I did last year is because it took a bit of a toll. There is a video of me training for the run where one of my blades slips and I do a graceful front split on the tarmac, crushing my family jewels in the process.
I guess I should be glad for my little tumble. That video went viral and after that the support just took off. But there’s only so much one man can take, my body has taken quite a battering already and I need more of you to get involved and help take the strain.
So on April 16th we are organising a 5k run down in Plymouth and I want you to ask yourself a couple of questions. Would you like to set yourself a goal that stretches you? Are you willing to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and would you like to raise money for REORG at the same time? If so then your exactly the kind of person we need to help us.
If you haven’t done anything like this before, don’t worry, help is at hand as soon as you sign up, via the link in my Instagram bio. Ben Wadham, the legend who has trained me for all my challenges, is there to offer tips to make sure you are ready for your run. Or at least as ready as I was.
This doesn’t mean I will be taking it easy, far from it. I’m competing in the National Fitness Games x Reorg event on April 2nd, an adaptive event that is a totally new experience for me. I’m still training hard and I will be banging the drum for REORG as loudly as possible all year, heading towards a repeat of our mega 24-hour jiu-jitsu Rollathan before Christmas.
I might not be running this year, but that means I can put even more energy into supporting the cause in every other way. I will be there for the 5K run cheering everyone on from the sidelines and I hope to see as many of you joining in as possible. The worst that could happen is you fall on your arse. Don’t worry about that, you just get up and move on. What’s happened in the past is all very well, but it’s what we do next that counts.
To sign up for the 5K run on April 16th please hit the link in Mark’s Instagram bio. Mark was talking to Richard Holt.
