Sacrifices, or how everyone's reality is different!

Hi all,

I hope and trust you are all keeping well and making loads of plans for the New Year and for some of you shedding the lbs gained over the festive season. I am back from a week off work. I took it to celebrate my 20 years in Ireland with a trip to Killarney but also to spend some time with relatives in Dublin.

While in Dublin I was reminded of the challenges life throws at you when my niece's daughter suffered a burst appendicitis on Christmas morning. She was rushed to Crumlin and operated on the same day. Later on in the week she got a bad reaction to morphine but is still keeping strong. Her mother and partner haven't left her side and sacrificed everything we took for granted on Christmas Day; family, food, drink, cakes, sleep, TV. The lot.

And that got me thinking about what I am doing, running my 12 marathons in 12 months in 2015 for Gorta Self Help Africa! My sacrifices compared to those of the women that will be supported with the money I will raise.

My sacrifices are time (training, fundraising, races etc...), food (cutting refined and added sugars, bread, restaurants etc...), alcohol (no more until I have reached my target 12 Marathons then a bottle of bubbly) and weekends (training Friday, Saturday and Sunday or racing).

The sacrifice of  these women in Africa is to get up every day (365/year) and to do whatever they need to do to keep themselves and their families ALIVE!

If I don't succeed, I will feel horrible. If they don't succeed, there may be death.

That's all the motivation I need, trying to make a difference and make some other people's lives better. That is my purpose in life and through my running we might be able to set up some smallholder farms for these women to become self sufficient.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: -You can support me by following this Blog every Monday and Friday for the whole year and by sharing it with your friends.
-You can donate €12 (€1/Marathon) or a multiple if possible at http://www.mycharity.ie/event/patrick_mercies_12marathonsin12monthsin2015
-Helping me find companies or organisations that would like to sponsor me for the year and whose names will be on newsletters, t-shirts, social media etc...

My training programme this week is 1 x 4.6 miles, 2 x 6.21 miles, 1 x 7.2 miles and 1 x some distance over 10 Miles. The other 2 days will be covered with some Core work.

Have a wonderful day.
Patrick