Deciding to run the Isle of Wight Half Marathon for Project Aware was easy! The training and the fundraising was a different story.

My boyfriend Shaun and I were, at the time living on different sides of the world and used the Endomondo app on our phones to train together.

To be honest we were a bit slack with the training and personally I wasn't sure I'd make the 13 miles!

Fundraising started slowly but we received a lot of support and fundraising tips from Orsi and we managed to reach over our target of $200.

On the morning of the 16th August, the whole thing just seemed like a horrible, rediculus idea and I was so frustrated with myself for not training harder!

I really thought I'd come crawling through the finish after the organisers had packed up and gone home! 

Geared up with hydration and energy supply's we made our way to the start of the race and off we went.

It was a beautiful day and a scenic route around Ryde. The first few km were actually quite enjoyable.

What I remember about most of the rest is just hills and pain!! However, about two thirds of the way round I felt like I got a new lease of energy and the last few miles flew by!

Shaun ran the first half with me and then whizzed off to finish in under two hours. I managed it in just over two hours, 7 minutes which I am more than happy with!!

It turned out to be a really fun day although I wouldnt recommend ice cream and Guinness as a post run meal!!

Huge thanks to Orsi, my dog (my main training partner) and Shaun for agreeing to run with me but mainly to those who sponcered us :)

myoceanchallenge.org/team/nickyandshaun