In the running to help EIA fight environmental crime!

Today’s guest blog is by two energetic souls tackling the Brighton Marathon 2014 for EIA!

In less than a month, EIA campaigner Jill Thomson and supporter Adam Lee will pound the pavements to raise funds for the important work we do. Both have been working through a tough training schedule and here they tell us how they feel about preparing for the run on Sunday, April 6..

Brighton Marathon runners Adam Lee and Jill Thomson (c) EIA

First up, Adam talks about stiff legs, his motivations for race day and why he decided to run for EIA.

Hi all at EIA,

I thought I’d update you on my progress with the marathon coming up fast! 

It was really nice to visit the EIA office and meet the team for a good chat and it motivated me to tell my friends about the great work you do. Since I first started reading about what you do I was really impressed and wanted to help out; it’s good to see a small charity making a big difference by combating environmental crime. It’s definitely been a learning experience finding out about undercover investigations; they offer unique insight into that world and how it effects our environment. I hope I can raise a good amount of money for you and help spread the word a bit too!

Without wanting to sound too down about my progress, I got ill and haven’t run for two weeks until today! I have started to worry a bit about my ability to run 26 miles since a jog along a train platform reduced me to a bent-over coughing fit and legs that felt like they were on fire. I am, however, starting to feel better and today I got out for a run – and what a run it was!

Since getting ill, the UK has decided to get all warm and sunny, which is lovely for anyone not running 20 miles, but that’s exactly what I did today. Well, I say I ran 20 miles, but actually I ran 17 miles and got the train home, sporting a crusty, salty face and a grimace that kept the other passengers at a good distance. Given the circumstances though, I’m actually feeling pretty positive after the experience; as the nausea wears off I think I did pretty well, considering, and the next week will see me back to full fitness and eating up the miles again.

I’m going to do a half-marathon in Richmond Park next week and that should be a good test of how fast I can run. I’d love to do the Brighton Marathon in under four hours, and some people have said they’ll sponsor me more if I do, as a little motivator! I’ve also been taking the time to read all the EIA stories that are posted on Facebook and the site, because that makes me think it’s definitely worth pushing myself a bit more to bring in the cash!

You can support Adam’s fundraising endeavors on his JustGiving page here. Alternatively, you can sponsor him via text by sending ‘ADAM26 £5’ to 70070 to donate £5.

EIA Global Environment Campaigner Jill shares her personal motivations for tackling the tough 26.2 mile route. Additionally, if she raises over £600, she has pledged to run the marathon dressed as an HFC-23 ‘climate bomb’ – even more incentive for us to help her reach her fundraising goal!

It’s less than three weeks to race day and I’m slowly clocking up the miles. Training for a marathon is a tough but satisfying experience; everything you do, or don’t do, contributes to your performance on the big day.

When I realised that EIA was looking for sign-ups for the marathon, I jumped at the chance. I’ve never met so many knowledgeable, fascinating and hard-working individuals as I have in my five months here.  They are all entirely dedicated to their own campaigns and the organisation’s overall goals. The torrent of abuse that our planet has suffered over the years at the hands of governments and individuals is something for which EIA has a zero-tolerance policy. When we are all stripped down of our religious and political differences and our economic disparities, surely the environment is one of the few things that binds us all and something worth protecting? And what better way to communicate this than to run 26.2 miles dressed as a giant endangered cetacean, or an HFC-23 climate bomb?

Expert runners will tell you that running is 90 per cent mental, and I agree. While you can’t will yourself to overcome the post-Christmas strain on the waist belt during that first run of the year, if you can get yourself off the sofa and into your running shoes then you’ve already won half the battle. As a school-girl, I sided with all my P.E. classmates in dreading the military-style ‘12 minute run’  we were forced to do each year and I lasted one session with my university running club after accidentally turning up on hill-sprints night. However, since training for the Brighton Marathon began, I’ve realised running is something that can be enjoyed, not just endured! What were once feared distances have now become proud milestones, and in overcoming them running became less daunting and a more rewarding exercise altogether. 

Admittedly, training hasn’t been without its challenges! Having just moved down to London when I first signed up to run, I hardly knew my way to the local tube station, let alone how to navigate myself around a city of this size. However, as I discovered, running is a great way to get to know a place- I’ve run into more famous places and familiar faces than I can count and I never get tired of exploring the parks- London has more of them than any other European city and on a sunny Spring day there really is no better place to be.

Hopefully the weather will stay on my side on race day, but for now, on behalf of everyone at EIA, I’d like to say a big thank-you to all my friends, family and colleagues who are helping to donate to this great cause- with any luck, your support will get me over that line!

You can support Jill’s fundraising efforts on her JustGiving page here, alternatively you can sponsor her via text by sending ‘JILL26 £5’ to 70070 to donate £5.

Everyone here at EIA would like to thank Jill and Adam for their long hours of training and undertaking this huge personal challenge. Please help encourage both by sponsoring them, and let’s keep their enthusiasm going and give them even more incentive to cross the finish line!