Jake Johnson is running the Bristol Half Marathon
In September, Jake Johnson will be huffing and puffing around Bristol, to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. The BHF aims to improve the UK’s heart care through pioneering research, campaigning for heart care awareness and also by providing care and support for sufferers of heart illnesses in this country. Jake has signed up for the annual half marathon in Bristol and has been keeping his JustGiving page up to date with lots of news about how his training is going!
We caught up with Jake to have a chat about his half marathon training and fundraising experience.
Hi Jake! What inspired you to take up the challenge of running the Bristol half marathon?
It’s the idea of the personal accomplishment that first inspired me to enter the Bristol Half Marathon. I’ve never been a runner, more of an infrequent 5-a-side footballer if anything, so I knew this would be a big test for me. My fiancée, Kelly, is also running with me, so for both of us, it’s a little bit of “well if they’re doing it…”
I also like the simplicity of running. No fancy machines, no equipment, just you and your route. The outcome of the race hinges purely on me and my running shoes – and perhaps keeping up with Kelly!
I also thought that, while we were at it, we could raise some money for a worthwhile cause.
Why did you decide to fundraise for the British Heart Foundation?
My fiancée’s mother suffered a heart attack when she was only in her mid-40s despite being in very good health – in fact it all started while she was swimming. That made my fiancée and I want to help the British Heart Foundation.
We ran a 5k for them at Ashton Court back in 2008, but we wanted to take it further and raise more money for their cause.
How has the training been going? Do you have any tips for other aspiring runners?
Training has been ok. I’ve struggled a bit with a knee problem but I feel I’ve done enough, if not as much as I would have liked.
The odd thing is now that I actually look forward to going for a run. Perhaps it’s the escapism as you focus on the task in front of you and not the 101 things that need to be done at work.
I’ve found that loading my MP3 player up with podcasts helps me get through my run. With music you just ‘listen’, whereas when someone is talking, you concentrate on what they are saying – I think this helps distract me from the pain!
How easy did you find it to fundraise through JustGiving?
Using JustGiving has been ridiculously simple to use. I just set up my page, selected the event date and my charity and I was away. Having your own named URL is great as well as its easy for the people you’re pestering to remember!
How have you been promoting your page to get those vital donations?
I’ve added it to my email signature and keep adding my URL whenever I talk about anything running related on Twitter. I’ve also just bugged people to give me some money – but I always waited until the start of the month for when they’ve been paid!
My most successful – and fun – fundraising attempt was running a competition on an animation-based forum I frequently post on. The owner (the guy who made these ads: http://www.118247.com/) has his own merchandise and donated some plush toys, t-shirts, hoodies and calendars for me to use as a prize.
From there I set up a prize draw. For £1 a go forum members would suggest film titles with food based puns in them. All the film titles were then reviewed by workmates, my mum and staff at Aardman Animations, and then five winners were picked.
Quite a few of the forum members donated £20 but couldn’t think of 20 film titles so just donated anyway!
The winner was Saturday Night Fajita, but Thyme Bandits, Toastbusters, Lord of the Onion Rings and V for Vienetta ran them close!
Would you use JustGiving again?
I would use JustGiving again without a doubt. It makes it so easy, for both the fundraiser and those donating. Being able to use PayPal has made it so straightforward for a lot of the people who wanted to donate. It makes it nice and quick, making the donations bigger.
It also takes out the hassle of chasing them up for money after the event and having to make numerous trips to the bank to pay it all in!
How will you celebrate when you reach your fundraising target and finish the race?
I’m at about 55% of my target with a month to go, so it depends on how well I pester my remaining workmates and family. If I were to make it to my goal of £500 I’d be over the moon as it will help the British Heart Foundation continue their great work.
As for the end of the race, I’ll probably collapse for a few days and try to reconnect my legs! My fiancée is angling for a holiday and as we get closer to the date, I’m thinking it’s not such a bad idea!
Do you have a message for any other runners taking part in the Bristol half marathon?
As a first-timer I, sadly, don’t have any wisdoms to pass on, but I’ll try my best…
Running the long straight down (and back again) the Portway will probably be the hardest part as it won’t seem to end! I believe that the people of Bristol will give you a boost as we get into the 10+ mile stage, or at least I’m hoping they will! If you start to flag (I know I will!) then think of the reasons you wanted to do this in the first place. When I think of all the people who have supported me and the people it will help, I’m sure that’ll get me over that line. Just not under 2 hours…
Thanks for chatting with us Jake. You can visit Jake’s page here, where he has just reached the half-way point towards his target. Good luck with the rest of your fundraising Jake!
