I have learnt over the years that running a race, whether it is a 5k Race for Life or the London Marathon, is easy; training for it is the hard part.

On race day you are part of a big exciting event and your mother/wife/girlfriend/father/husband/boyfriend/sister/brother or any combination of them and your mates will be there to support you, the crowd will be cheering and you will be determined to succeed.

On a dark, cold and wet January morning when you are supposed to be doing a training run there will be no cheering crowds, your mates will not be there and your family will all be wanting you to do something else. This is when it is hard and you need every piece of help that you can get. Training programs, motivational images, the fear of failing, training partners and promising yourself treats will all help. So will running for a charity.

Running, in some ways, is a selfish thing, raising money for charity is not; it will give you an external focus. It also means that you will be telling a lot of people what you are doing; failing will be a big embarrassment. So running for charity will provide a very good carrot and stick. If you run for a charity that is close to your heart it will be a very tempting carrot that will pull you though the most difficult situations.

When I was in South Africa, several years ago, I cuddled a small baby who had been found abandoned in a cardboard box beside the road in a shanty town on the outskirts of Durban. The charity I was running for helps a project that finds homes for abandoned children. I can remember how it felt when that baby snuggled into my shoulder and I can still remember how she smelt. When I feel like staying in my warm bed rather than going running, when I feel like giving up I remember her. That is powerful motivation.

Many charities will provide support and advice and websites such as www.justgiving.com and www.everyclick.com make it much easier to raise sponsorship money so the downside of running for charity ( all the time it takes to get the money) is not so much of a burden as it used to be.

If the charity you select means a lot to you and you tell lots of people what you are doing you will have two very powerful motivators to keep you training. Just do not attempt more than you can achieve, but remember the only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them to the impossible.

Edward Chapman

Director

Comrades of Children Overseas

www.coco.org.uk