Husband and wife, Collette and Steve Hill, who are both running the FLM 09 for HEART UK using the Charity’s guaranteed places, hope to raise more than £3,000.  To give their sponsors a good reason to donate, they came up with a range of innovative money-making schemes which they are happy to share with you!

Collette organised two very successful raffles in the hospital where she works, managing to secure great prizes from local companies, and raising a total of £900.  She also organised a Hospital Quiz and Auction Night at the Liberty Stadium, and with the help of some wonderful prizes donated by family, friends and local people, that event raised an amazing £1200.

Not wanting to rely entirely on the goodwill of their contacts, they arranged two days of bag-packing at their local Tesco store, even involving pupils from a local school, which netted £400 and inspired them to book another packing session for Good Friday. 

Collette explains, “The fundraising has been quite stressful, but enjoyable - I might have even found my niche in life!  So far I have managed to raise £2500 for my husband and myself to give to HEART UK!”

If you have a fundraising story to share please send it to Claire at

Many runners fail to realize that one of the most important aspects of marathon training is the taper phase. Reducing weekly and long run mileage during these final two weeks is vitally important so that you will be fully recovered from previous workouts while at the same time, be completely rested for the big event. The reason for this is that you need to allow your body to make the adaptations you are aiming for resulting from your training.

Physical Preparation

• Cut back on the distance and intensity of your training runs during the two-week period prior to the marathon, eliminating long and hard efforts.
• Listen to your body. Remember, there are no workouts the week prior to the marathon that will enhance your preparedness for the race. An important rule of thumb is “Less is Best”, particularly if you are feeling either physically or mentally tired and/or your leg muscles are fatigued/achy, etc.
• Keep stretching as much as possible during the couple of weeks prior to the marathon.

Nutrition The Week Prior to Your Marathon

• As you reduce your mileage during the last week, you will not be burning as many calories. Thus, you may gain one or two pounds if you don’t cut back a bit on the quantity of your servings early in the week.
• Use care in selecting foods to eat during this time period, aiming for nutritious and healthy items rather than snack/high fat products.
• Hydrate well the week before the marathon. This is the time when you may gain a couple of pounds, but don’t worry about it…This will be your energy fuel during the marathon!
• Carbohydrate (the main fuel for your race) loading begins three days before the marathon. Choose foods for lunch and dinner that are high in carbohydrates (e.g., pasta, potatoes, rice, etc.). Don’t neglect fruits, vegetables, and some protein sources however. Try to really scale back on fats during this time.

Need some inspiration? Why not browse some of your fellow Teamredlaces runners’ pages and read some top fundraising tips for making the most of your justgiving.com page?

• Toni Hutton http://www.justgiving.com/tonihutton

• Sarah Billson – shows us how to keep people up-to-date with training http://www.justgiving.com/sarahbillson09

• Sarah Moffat - demonstrates how to keep people up-to-date with the fundraising activities that she has been organizing. http://www.justgiving.com/sarahmoffatt

Top Fundraising Tips to help make the most of your Justgiving.com page

1. Think about your personal message – turn it into a story
2. Make sure you put a picture on your Justgiving page. Also why not add extra photos to your page
3. Email people in groups and personalise your message. Get generous donations on your page first. Send a reminder email around on pay day.
4. Put your page address in your email signature.
5. Promote your page with social media tools like Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.
6. Get your page featured in the local press. Send a press release to your local paper and radio station.
7. Send fun reminder emails asking people to donate. Update your page and keep fundraising after the event.
8. Thank people – on your page, in an email, with a card, on your blog, Facebook or Twitter – make them feel good for supporting you!

Sarah raised all the money through £10 entrance fees. For the entrance fee, guests received entry into a prize draw, had a chance to win a free shot and received a traffic light tag – red, green or orange – which showed whether they were available or not. Sarah cleverly sold items on ebay to cover the cost of buying the three prizes - a love mug and two bottles of champagne - meaning that she raised even more for HEART UK!

Sarah said “The party was both a brilliant night and an excellent way to raise money for HEART UK. Thanks to everyone who came along to support such a good cause. HEART UK does a fantastic job raising awareness of the risks of high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. Being someone who is at risk themselves I fully support all their efforts and appreciate their work”.

Carole Gryglaszewska, Head of Fundraising at HEART UK said “We are delighted with Sarah’s innovative approach to meeting her sponsorship pledge. Not only has this event raised crucial funds for HEART UK, but it has helped to raise awareness. At HEART UK we’re passionate about preventing premature deaths from high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease and the more we can raise awareness of the risks, the more early deaths we will help prevent! Together we can ‘keep young hearts running’!”

Sarah has kindly offered her team some top tips!

1. Be creative! Being a fundraiser for HEART UK and organizing a valentine’s event seemed to be a logical fit, hearts and love!
2. Start early! My fundraising is for a spot in the London Marathon on 26 April. I set myself a target to reach before Christmas to help take the pressure off after the New Year
3. If you don’t ask you don’t get! Think of networks, they are probably a lot bigger than you think. For example, I work in Marketing and Communications so when I organized my party I asked some contacts to help me with flyers and tickets. I managed to get them both professionally designed and printed for free! Which means more money goes to HEART UK.

For HEART UK’s fundraising tips and ideas please click here

> IHC affects about one person in every 100 and can cause early cardiovascular disease.
> IHC can kill fit young people, without warning, in their 30s and 40s – and even in their 20s!

That’s why HEART UK is committed to helping and supporting individuals, families and health professionals to understand and control cholesterol conditions and related cardiovascular risks.

Your sponsorship money will help to:

• establish more Family Support Centres (FSCs)
• further our campaigning and lobbying efforts
• fund helpline services
• strengthen awareness raising activities
• fund research

Whether you’re running in memory of a loved one or simply challenging yourself to do something amazing for charity, HEART UK is proud to have each and every one of you as part of Teamredlaces and hopes that together we can keep young hearts running and families together.

Read Emma and Olivia’s reason for running the FLM 09 for HEART UK

To date John has raised £1,200, the majority of which he raised during a piping gig (bag pipes) held in Khartoum, Sudan where he was playing at a St Andrews Night Ball for ex-patriots in Sudan. John said, “The evening was held at the British Embassy and during the event I made a sure point of informing everyone what my aims were with the fundraising and managed to pull together $1,030 US. I then got a further £100 from another couple who were there but couldn’t pay on the night. That was a fantastic experience”

John is also planning a music recital on the 5th April - involving music being delivered by some of the best solo pipers in the world and two legendary pipe bands. John said, “The venue I am holding it in looks to seat about 200 people and I will be planning a raffle there as well.  Once I have my final musician confirmed I will be putting flyers out and advertising it in my area and on the internet.”

A big thank you to the following H·E·A·R·T UK 2007 FLM Marathon runners...
David Harrison, Andrew Dixon, Gary Forbes, Timo Murphy, Ben Seabourne, Tony, Perks, Michael Groke, Rachel Cunliffe, Dee Jones, Louise Moore, Juliet Percival, Ricky Urrutia, Lindsey FitzGerald, Liz Curran, Andy Hall, Isabel McFarlane

“Being physically able to run a marathon is a privilege in itself, but being able to make a contribution to a worthy cause along the way makes it an extra special experience.”
Lyndsey

“The crowd was fantastic; to me it was like being part of a 26 mile carnival.”
Andrew

“The sense of achievement made all the training and aches and pains worthwhile.”
Juliet

“Running the London Marathon has been one of the best things I have ever achieved.”
Michael

“Thank you for allowing me to have the most exhilarating but tiring day of my life.”
Gary

HEART UK and Teamredlaces are hoping to have 2 cheer points along the route for our runners’ supporters to check on their progress and cheer them on. These will be around mile 13 and 23. Mile 23 also is our allocated Pub - The Liberty Bounds in Trinity Square (nearest tube Tower Hill) right by Tower Bridge.

Please click on the link below for a map of the course (PDF).
> View the FLM Course map

Try to think through all the things you will need on race day and lay these out on your bed, and pack your bag ready for the big day. Then on race day when you wake up you are ready to go!

Don’t try anything new on race day, stick to the same breakfast you usually have and don’t wear new socks and trainers or any new clothing.

Try to get to the start as early as possible. If you are staying at one of our partner hotels there will be a bus to the start for all runners.

If you are travelling by public transport then South East Trains will be putting on special trains which will be running to the starts from Charing Cross, Waterloo East and London Bridge at frequent intervals between 7am and 9am - please see full details below.

If you are starting from the BLUE START you must catch a train that goes to Blackheath Station. From there you can easily walk to the Start in 15-20 minutes.

If you are starting at the RED START, your trains go to either Greenwich or Maze Hill. Both stations are about 20 minutes walk from the Red Start. Runners arriving at Greenwich Station must use the St Mary’s Gate entrance (William Walk and Romney Road). Runners arriving at Maze Hill Station should use the National Maritime Museum gate entrance. No cars are allowed into the Park.

If you are starting from the GREEN START you should catch a train to Maze Hill. From there it is a 15-20 minute walk to the Green Start. Subject to your acceptance of the conditions of travel, a copy of which will be included with your final instructions at Registration, travel for competitors is free on these trains only - your running number will be your ticket! Non-runners must purchase a ticket as normal.

Once at your start area make sure you listen to any announcements from the organisers as this is the only way they have of communicating any last minute changes to you.  Make sure you familiarise yourself with the toilet facilities as you will probably need to visit these more frequently than usual and there tend to be large queues with a lot of nervous people about.

So, you’ve got your number and timing chip on and you’re ready to go… it’s just a matter of taking one last trip to the toilet and positioning yourself in the appropriate place at the start. There will be signs detailing the estimated time of the runners in that area to help you decide. A lot of people put a bin liner on to keep themselves warm and then this can be discarded as you start running.

Shoes
You should purchase your running shoes from a specialist running shop that will examine your gait. A properly fitted running shoe should not cause blisters and by testing the running shoe on a treadmill you should be alert to any pressured areas which could lead to a blister.

Socks
One of the most popular socks on the market is the double layered anti blister sock. The double layer limits friction which can occur between a one-layered sock and your skin. It is recommended that you purchase one pair first and give them a try.

You can also use petroleum jelly on parts of your foot that you know are prone to rubbing.

There are some very good specialised blister plasters on the market (e.g. Compeed).  These plasters meld with your skin and act as a second (temporary) skin, while the skin underneath heals. There are also other products on the market that can help with relief from calluses and bunions.