Latest / The Folkestone & Hythe Sports Podcast / DEN KELLY TELLS US WHY HE WILL BE RUNNING THE LONDON MARATHON.

Transcript

DEN KELLY TELLS US WHY HE WILL BE RUNNING THE LONDON MARATHON. · The Folkestone & Hythe Sports Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now in the second of my London Marathon special interviews,
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  Speaker 1: I'm joined today by Den Kelly. Hello, then, how are you?
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Good morning, very well, thank you good well.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Thanks for taking the time to have a little chat
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  Speaker 1: then and now, then let me explain to our listeners
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  Speaker 1: that you've ticked all the boxes I was looking for.
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  Speaker 1: You're a local runner, it's your very first marathon, which
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: is London, and you're raising money for charity. So tell
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: us a bit about yourself, for example, I mean, did
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: you like sport of school? Did you bunk off school
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: because of sport? And how long have you run? In
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: just a little bit about yourself.
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  Speaker 3: So I think probably the biggest part of my life
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: was twenty one years in the Armed forces, so that
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: was the ref So part of that is obviously there
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: was an element of staying physically fit, and during that
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: time I played quite a lot of hockey, so my
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  Speaker 3: coaches always used to tell me off for playing sport
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: to keep fit and not keeping fit to play sport.
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  Speaker 3: So I was never the greatest runner, I think it
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  Speaker 3: would be fair to say, but I've always had that
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  Speaker 3: kind of base level there. So for really coming out
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  Speaker 3: of that, coming out or leaving the military, So just
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  Speaker 3: over thirteen years ago. Now the kind of like the
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  Speaker 3: gym stuff, really kind of stopped to played a little
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  Speaker 3: bit of golf, didn't play stop playing hockey. So really
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  Speaker 3: it was something I've come to a time in my
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  Speaker 3: life really that with it was something I wanted to achieve,
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  Speaker 3: and with the charity aspect of it as well, it
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  Speaker 3: kind of felt like the right time, the right time.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, so how long you've been running in.
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  Speaker 3: So I've been training for sixteen weeks, with stops and starts,
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: with the training setbacks that I think everybody will go through.
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  Speaker 3: But I said, there's always been kind of like that
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  Speaker 3: base that i'ld go to the gym occasionally. And a
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  Speaker 3: couple of years ago, I spent some time away overseas
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  Speaker 3: and during that time when I was away from my family,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: joined COVID, spent quite a lot of time in the
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  Speaker 3: gym there. So fortunately that fitness was there. It was
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  Speaker 3: just time on the road.
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  Speaker 1: So you had a basis of fitness, which you've obviously
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  Speaker 1: done most of your life. But so what decided running
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  Speaker 1: in London?
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  Speaker 2: Mara, Well, there's a.
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  Speaker 3: Couple of things really, I mean I've always been a
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  Speaker 3: fan of the London marathon. I remember way back when
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  Speaker 3: I was a boy watching Charlie Spedding back in the
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  Speaker 3: early eighties, I think, doing the London Marathon. So it
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  Speaker 3: would always be the you know, watching the marathon on
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  Speaker 3: a Sunday morning, so there was always that interest. I've
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  Speaker 3: had family members that have done lots and lots of marathons,
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  Speaker 3: so for me that was always kind of sitting in
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  Speaker 3: the background as a bucket list. But I've never been
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  Speaker 3: a long distance runner, so to be honest, I didn't
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  Speaker 3: think it was achievable. But then when I turned fifty
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  Speaker 3: a couple of years ago, it kind of got more
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  Speaker 3: of a goal that I wanted to do. And then
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  Speaker 3: a couple of things that have happened sort of to
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  Speaker 3: me personally, and when I got married last year, Penny's
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  Speaker 3: mum and stepdad, I've done so much for the RBL
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  Speaker 3: and I'm now taken a bit of a back seat,
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  Speaker 3: or they'll say they're taking a bit of a back seat,
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  Speaker 3: but they're still very, very busy.
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  Speaker 1: So the RBL explained to her listeners what the RBL was.
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  Speaker 3: So that's a Royal British legion, so obviously very well
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  Speaker 3: known for the appeal and do so much work for servicemen,
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  Speaker 3: both current and former serving lots and lots of awareness
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  Speaker 3: that have been around this particular charity. But what I
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  Speaker 3: wanted to do was really kind of focus on a
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  Speaker 3: local level. So we have the Choton and mah Raw
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  Speaker 3: British Legion branch, which again does so much work in
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  Speaker 3: the local area, and really it was kind of raised
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  Speaker 3: a little bit awareness about that, really trying to generate
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  Speaker 3: some new members, trying to generate again if people have
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  Speaker 3: got time on their hand to because they need offices
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  Speaker 3: as well as you know, people just to become members.
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  Speaker 3: So really it was it was twofold really, So the
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  Speaker 3: Raw British Legion also helped me as well a couple
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  Speaker 3: of years ago when you're kind of having tough at times,
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  Speaker 3: especially when you're transitioning from the military into Civillian street.
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  Speaker 3: So they've always been super supportive for me. They've been
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  Speaker 3: super supporters and some very close friends on fortune one
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  Speaker 3: lost his life last year to cancer and the support
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  Speaker 3: that they gave their family was really just tremendous and
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  Speaker 3: that really was the springboarding to go, right, this is
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  Speaker 3: the right time.
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  Speaker 1: So did you was it that with your connections with
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  Speaker 1: your R b Ill. Was it quite easy to get.
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  Speaker 2: A charity place? Absolutely so.
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  Speaker 3: It was way back in May last year I volunteered
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  Speaker 3: for the to run for the Row Britsh Legion. So
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  Speaker 3: I put forward obviously my kind of like little CV,
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  Speaker 3: and they were very interested. They got back to me
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  Speaker 3: very quickly and said, you know, we would we would
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  Speaker 3: love you to run. And the rest, as I say,
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  Speaker 3: is history, or will be history hopefully.
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  Speaker 1: Next to it was it was a bit of a
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  Speaker 1: shock to the system when when you know, you thought,
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  Speaker 1: oh my word, I've really got to train for this,
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  Speaker 1: and did you ever did you have a training plan
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  Speaker 1: or did you just go out and do a bit
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  Speaker 1: running yourself.
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  Speaker 3: So initially it was I was quite conscious about getting
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  Speaker 3: miles into my legs really, so I didn't follow a
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  Speaker 3: set training plan. Initially it would just get out of
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  Speaker 3: the road doing some park runs, just doing a bit
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  Speaker 3: of bit a run. And then as we turned into
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  Speaker 3: the new year, I then started to follow the sixteen
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  Speaker 3: week training plan, of which are kind of some moments
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  Speaker 3: I found easier, some elements I found harder, and then
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  Speaker 3: the I picked up a hamstring injury after about week
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  Speaker 3: six when I started doing some mintival training and so
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  Speaker 3: that obviously set me back sort of five six weeks really,
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  Speaker 3: So since then I've been quite wary about being doing
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  Speaker 3: too much strength work and just concentrate on getting miles
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  Speaker 3: into my legs really right.
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  Speaker 1: And the RBL on the side of your running, have
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  Speaker 1: they been a good support.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, tremendously supportive, So especially we're all part of groups
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  Speaker 3: on Facebook and the organizers of Victoria at the RBL
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  Speaker 3: has been immensely supportive. There's been zoom calls and there's
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  Speaker 3: been regular newsletters with information and hints and tips about.
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  Speaker 2: What to do and what to expect obviously for the
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  Speaker 2: weekend coming. So yeah, super supportive really.
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  Speaker 1: So as you as your mileage built up, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: what was your longest run that you did?
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  Speaker 3: So I did the LID Half Marathon that's probably what
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  Speaker 3: six weeks ago now, so that was that was a
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  Speaker 3: real step into the unknown. That was the furthest I'd
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  Speaker 3: previously done was ten miles and that was a very
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  Speaker 3: long time ago. So that for me was an important
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  Speaker 3: gate post in my training really in how I am
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  Speaker 3: and how I got and really the lessons that I
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  Speaker 3: learned from that day, especially with fueling and pace et cetera.
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  Speaker 3: And one of the things that I've really taken on
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  Speaker 3: board over the last couple of weeks is my running
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  Speaker 3: posture to run better rather than so, things like keeping
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  Speaker 3: your chin up, keeping your diaphragm expanded, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: just trying to have a better form. And these are
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  Speaker 3: all lessons that I've learned since lid really like the
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  Speaker 3: longest run so and I found since then, although I
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  Speaker 3: haven't really increased the distance because again the kind of
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  Speaker 3: life's got in the way and confused sniffles and stuff
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  Speaker 3: like that, I felt that I've run much better through
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: those lessons.
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  Speaker 1: AD okay, And what about your lifestyle in as much
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  Speaker 1: a lot as job, What did you do for a little.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm a train conductor with Southeastern, so I work
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  Speaker 3: shift so one week it's early, so next week it's late.
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  Speaker 3: So that's quite disruptive, especially with rest days as well,
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  Speaker 3: so trying to find a regular schedule to go.
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  Speaker 2: Out and run it can be quite difficult.
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  Speaker 3: So I generally find that I'll try and run towards
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  Speaker 3: like the late morning. I did try running in the
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  Speaker 3: early afternoon, but that was so stop start with all
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  Speaker 3: the traffic for people doing the school runs.
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  Speaker 2: Et cetera. That was actually quite they were all bad runs.
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  Speaker 3: So I found that the best time for me to
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  Speaker 3: kind of run around my work pattern was around about
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  Speaker 3: sort of eleven mid eleven o'clock mid.
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  Speaker 1: Day, right, okay, And so getting onto you've got a
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  Speaker 1: bit dispallot place and the next thing is you've got
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  Speaker 1: to pay for it. But it's normally finding a couple
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  Speaker 1: of thousand pound So tell there, how's that gone. Have
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  Speaker 1: you done any fundraising events or you know you just
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  Speaker 1: relying on as generous to your family and friends.
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  Speaker 3: Well, firstly, family and friends have been exceptionally generous. You know,
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  Speaker 3: I'm not quite at my fundraising target yet, We're getting
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  Speaker 3: pretty close. But we have had a couple of events
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  Speaker 3: in the over the last few weeks.
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  Speaker 2: We had a quiz night at.
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  Speaker 3: The baron Brunch, which is our effectively our next door neighbor.
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  Speaker 3: So Mark was put on a really really good evening.
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  Speaker 3: It was a lot of fun and we raised a
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  Speaker 3: little bit of money with the charity and you put
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  Speaker 3: a good proportion of the of the profits of.
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  Speaker 2: That evening towards us.
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  Speaker 3: So that was that was a brilliant night and really
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  Speaker 3: kind of gave me some motivation as well through three
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  Speaker 3: extra bits and pieces my wife Penny has She's done
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  Speaker 3: cake bakes and raffles and et cetera.
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  Speaker 2: So we've done really well on those.
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  Speaker 3: We've raised I think just over three hundred pounds just
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  Speaker 3: on the cake base itself. So that's been a brilliant
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  Speaker 3: you know, really really really supportive.
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  Speaker 1: Are you very far shal your total?
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  Speaker 3: So at the moment, we'd just say just over seventeen
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  Speaker 3: hundred pounds ago, so three hundred So hopefully anybody out
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  Speaker 3: there that's still looking to donate so you can find my.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes the donations go up after you've done it, you know,
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  Speaker 1: they think I'll keep me money. Yeah, But when you've
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  Speaker 1: done it and people realize that you've just run twenty
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  Speaker 1: six point two miles, they think, oh wow, that deserves
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  Speaker 1: a ten, that deserves twenty quid And so I'm sure
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  Speaker 1: you're going to hit your target. Yeah. So do you
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  Speaker 1: find because your shift work, then you're you're not a
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  Speaker 1: member of a club or do you run everything? Been
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  Speaker 1: on your own? Is it?
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  Speaker 2: Yes?
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  Speaker 3: So I've had a couple of i would say training partners,
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  Speaker 3: but a few people. So Hillary Collins, who is part
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  Speaker 3: of the Vocal running club. She's done a couple of
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  Speaker 3: runs with me, and she's been really supportive a fart
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  Speaker 3: as because she's done the marathons before.
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  Speaker 2: I think she's doing the reverse marathon this year.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah.
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  Speaker 3: So she's full of all the ideas and tips about
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  Speaker 3: things what to do, and every time I have that
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  Speaker 3: little emotional crisis and Hillary what my toenails falling off,
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  Speaker 3: She's coming out with, you know, some really good advice.
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  Speaker 3: So I've plenty of people of My best friend would
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  Speaker 3: he He was there for the first park run. He
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  Speaker 3: lives up in the Cotswolds, so he was there and
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  Speaker 3: we did that first run together to start on the
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  Speaker 3: sixteen week training plan.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, it's.
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  Speaker 3: I'm a bit of a kind of a loaner when
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  Speaker 3: it comes to running because.
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  Speaker 1: There some people are absolutely don't they you know it
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  Speaker 1: it suits them, you know some I used to find
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  Speaker 1: whim I was training, if somebody was like half a
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  Speaker 1: yard quicker in their natural pace, it meant that you
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  Speaker 1: were running out of your comfort zone. Yeah, so sometimes
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  Speaker 1: it is it's nice to have that company, but it's
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  Speaker 1: also nice to run on your own as well.
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  Speaker 3: Find it quite difficult to talk when I'm running so
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  Speaker 3: to keep on by my breathing, especially on the early
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  Speaker 3: days when, as I say, when you're trying to get
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  Speaker 3: those miles in your legs. But hopefully now with the
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  Speaker 3: pace that I'm running at, hopefully there'll be a few
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: conversations on Sunday.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, So let's move on to the logistics of
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: the weekend. How are you going to handle that? Are
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: you going up there on the day, going up to
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: the train and coming back or weekend?
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  Speaker 3: Definitely the train. So we're going to So I'm going
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  Speaker 3: up tomorrow to register. So I'm going up with with Autumn,
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: who was a guest last Oh yeah, lovely. Yeah, So
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  Speaker 3: We're going to go up tomorrow and kind of take
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: away the pressure of Saturday, have a little wander around
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: the running show, and then I'm going up with my wife.
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  Speaker 3: My best friend and his wife were all meeting up
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: in London on Saturday morning, staying overnight in Canning Town,
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: so nice and close to the Excel. And then we're
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  Speaker 3: also going to stay on Sunday night to see what
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: kind of state I'm mean really and then probably sit
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: down on Ali probably sit there.
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  Speaker 1: You won't be again.
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  Speaker 3: So I think the DLR and step free access is
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: going to be my friend, right, So.
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  Speaker 1: What about if you worked out a plan with family
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: and friends where they're going to be.
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  Speaker 2: So the Royer British Legion.
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  Speaker 3: I've got a couple of cheer stations along the way,
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: so I think we're going to we're going to hit
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: those up. Certainly cut its up and again kind of
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: going back to the history of watching the marathon, that
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: was always the iconic spot along that with Tower Bridge,
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: watching people run around Cutty suck. So I would love
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: if I could get my friends and family close to
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: the Cutty's up. That would be a real And then
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: the other thing that I've suggested is is kind of
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: when it gets difficult is obviously a round sort of
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: canary wharf, So it'd be brilliant if we can get
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: them there.
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  Speaker 1: It does lift you if you just see a family
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  Speaker 1: or a loved one, little hug and then off you go. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: it's well worth it.
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  Speaker 2: So I think they're they're the two.
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  Speaker 3: And then after that, really it's kind of wherever they
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: can get closer and then dropping a message so.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: I can pick it up as we're going around.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: It's really frustrating because if your one side and your
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: loved one is the other side and they're running. Yeah,
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: your head off and they just see you at the
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: last minute. Oh you're so good luck on that one.
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  Speaker 1: But from the pictures I've seen, you've got an awesome
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: T shirt to run in. It's going to stand out
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: a mile, isn't it. Yeah, and you get well, get
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: your name on it. I'll tell you what, get your
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: name on it. That's even when you're a bit down
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: in the dumps, the strangers are going God, Dan, God,
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: then it does lift you up. Okay, So before we
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  Speaker 1: close in then, I mean, is there anything else you
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: want to say? I mean, I think we covered most
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: of it, but if there's any any any, any thank
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: you or anything.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: Like that, well, I think obviously, first and foremost, all
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: the people that have supported me, especially that are in
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: the Folkston area, thank you so much.
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  Speaker 2: You've all been very, very generous.
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: And you know it's when you see those those donations
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: going into your fundraising page, it's so motivational. It helps
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: you get out and go and do those runs. So
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: just thank you ever so much for everybody that's done it.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: So Mark down at the baron Brunch are putting on
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: that the quiz night again, you know it was that
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: was a real springboarding my fundraising efforts. And then obviously
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: my close friends and family. So my best friend up
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: in the up in the Cotswolds, who will probably listen
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: to a recording of this on Saturday when we get there.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: So again they've been every every couple of days, it's
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: how's it going, how's the running going. And then finally
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: obviously my wife Penny, who's had to put up with
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: all the leg rubs.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, then the girls needs go yeah I know, yeah, yeah,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: And that is the thing it is. You know, you're
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: doing it on your own, but you've got this team
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: behind you and you do need their support in their
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: back in. Otherwise it makes the job even harder, doesn't it. Yeah,
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: right then, So the last little thing what I'm going
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: to do on the on the day is she'll be
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: putting your You're just giving page up so people can donate,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: but just just remind us what information you've got about
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: if people want to donate.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: So so obviously my name is Dennis Kelly, you'll find
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: I'll be on Facebook. Also, my wife Penny Aspin or Kelly,
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: you'll find her. So she's got obviously a lot of
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: friends and family around here, So just click on any
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: one of those Facebook you'll find the link to the
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: fundraising site and there we QR coaches loitering around. So
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: please again for those last minute donations. It will be
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: so grateful and really motivational for Sunday. When it comes
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: to the actual run itself.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Well then what else can I say except have a
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: fantastic day. Is I'll say this every interview when I
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: talk about marathons. If you're going to run a marathon,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: run London. If you never do another marathon in your life,
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: you know the fact that you're running around in London
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: is just a wonderful thing that we'll live with you forever.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: So just want to.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Say the best of luck, and they say you have
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: a good one.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much. Cheers