Chris contemplating the enormity of the task before him. Photo © Greg Woods
“One year ago I was three stone heavier and very unfit. I really needed to get off my a**e and do something for the sake of my health”, explained Chris Thomas founder of the Palace Magazine and now publisher of this website. We caught up with him at his final training session for the London Marathon in Crystal Palace Park.
“Twelve years previously I had run half-marathons but that was a dim and distant memory. Bad eating habits and a more sedentary lifestyle had taken its toll (I couldn’t just blame the closure of the Crystal Palace Pool) I needed a big challenge to get myself motivated and the London Marathon seemed the obvious choice. To strengthen my resolve I decided to raise sponsorship for a charity. There could be no turning back!”
“I started by visiting the Crystal Palace gym now housed in the Lodge at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. I began walking and running for 20 minutes. Gradually I was up to twenty minutes of solid running and then I began to increase my time. Soon I was out and about running around Crystal Palace Park, Dulwich Park and Richmond Park. By January I completed a circuit to Greenwich and back via Beckenham which was fifteen miles and I knew I was on track. Three weeks ago I completed a twenty-mile run in South Wales so injury-permitting I am spot on course. Coming from Wales I find that Crystal Palace is a home away from home as it’s just one big hill. One of the great things about the London Marathon is that it’s totally flat!”
“I have always been interested in housing issues and seeing the economy going into recession with many people having their houses repossessed made running for Shelter seem the obvious choice. Shelter believes that everyone should have a home. They help people find a home and campaign for decent housing for all”.
Chris is halfway to his target of £1,600 and has got this mainly from family and friends. Now he is turning to the support of the businesses and people of Crystal Palace for his final push.
If you have sponsored him already, he thanks you…if not, you can still sponsor him up until the end of May. Just go to www.justgiving.co.uk/christopher_thomas. Having missed getting a place in the Crystal Palace triathlon due to its popularity he is now planning for the Lake Dorney sprint triathlon in May.
You can follow Chris’ progress on Sunday morning by texting the word “RUN’ to 83040 (Texts charged at your standard network rate) and adidas will send you a link to the mobile tracking service. Simply enter his race number 45111. You can locate him, check his speed and get start and finish times. Alternatively you can track him online on www.adidas.com/running
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