# JDRF - Win a prize!



## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

Hi, I thought I would make it more interesting for my sponsors by setting a competition:


Sponsor me for 50p or more to enter. Those who have already sponsored me can have a go straightaway!
Guess my finishing  blood glucose level. I have no idea what this might be, as so much depends on the day. Hopefully, it will not be TOO high or TOO low!
As there are likely to be some duplicate guesses, the tie-breaker will be to guess my finish time in hours:minute:seconds - the closest will then win!

The prizes will be:


 First: A copy of 'The Discovery of Insulin' by Michael Bliss - a 'must-read' for anyone with diabetes, or caring for someone with it.
 Second and third: A personalised poem written by me on the subject of your choice - can be for you, or someone's birthday - whatever you want!

To enter, sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/NorthernerJDRF/ then post your guesses here!

My finish time last year was just over two hours, to give you an idea, but I hope to do better than that this year


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 24, 2009)

Hmm Im hopeless at this sort of thing !!  I'll sponsor you ?10 for a poem  

Hehehe Im sooo cheeky


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## bev (Aug 24, 2009)

Great idea!

But can i ask you - do you normally go high with adrenaline when running? Am i allowed to question you?Bev


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## katie (Aug 24, 2009)

hmm, i'll go with 5.3 and 1hour 50mins 

completely random guess!


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## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

bev said:


> Great idea!
> 
> But can i ask you - do you normally go high with adrenaline when running? Am i allowed to question you?Bev



It's difficult to predict, bev. I normally stay within range on a training run of 5 miles or less, but longer runs I need to top up with jelly babies. The Great South Run is 10 miles. Last year I started the race on 11.0 mmol/l and finished on 5.8 mmol/l, but it really could be anything!


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## katie (Aug 24, 2009)

Northerner said:


> It's difficult to predict, bev. I normally stay within range on a training run of 5 miles or less, but longer runs I need to top up with jelly babies. The Great South Run is 10 miles. Last year I started the race on 11.0 mmol/l and finished on 5.8 mmol/l, but it really could be anything!



easy on the jelly babies when you are near the end, please


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## bev (Aug 24, 2009)

BG level on finishing : 5.1mmols

Finish time : 1hr 58mins 30 secs

Bev


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## sasha1 (Aug 24, 2009)

OOOOO ... This is a tricky one to predict ... I'm going to go with 6.3 ...sorry .. I feel awful saying this figure .... not thats is high .. but I think sensibly you will try to achieve and maintain a good bg throught out the race .... in order for you to drop to low 

Heidi
xx


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## sofaraway (Aug 24, 2009)

finishing blood sugar 6.2
finishing time 1 hour 51 minutes


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## sasha1 (Aug 24, 2009)

Forgot to post the finishing time ...  1hr 49mins 40seconds 

Heidi
xx


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## Patricia (Aug 24, 2009)

Umm...

5.0 finishing mmol. And I think you'll push hard: 1 hr 47 min 50 seconds.

Love this!


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## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Umm...
> 
> 5.0 finishing mmol. And I think you'll push hard: 1 hr 47 min 50 seconds.
> 
> Love this!



Thank you Patricia! Your support is very much appreciated!


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 24, 2009)

*Ahem...... do I get a poem for ?10 or do I have to up my bid ?  *


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## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> *Ahem...... do I get a poem for ?10 or do I have to up my bid ?  *



I would be very happy to write you a poem for ?10 AM!


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 24, 2009)

Northerner said:


> I would be very happy to write you a poem for ?10 AM!



* thankyou .... you can have artistic license and choose a topic , I love all your poems anyway  *


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## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> * thankyou .... you can have artistic license and choose a topic , I love all your poems anyway  *



OK, I have some ideas!


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 24, 2009)

Northerner said:


> OK, I have some ideas!



*Okies great , no rush . I'll go in and pay now though  I know Ive done it then *


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## katie (Aug 24, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> *Okies great , no rush . I'll go in and pay now though  I know Ive done it then *



whilst you're on the spend can u buy me a dress from ASOS please twin?


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 24, 2009)

katie said:


> whilst you're on the spend can u buy me a dress from ASOS please twin?



*Oooo I love ASOS , I darent go and have a look though *


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## katie (Aug 24, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> *Oooo I love ASOS , I darent go and have a look though *



yeah me neither


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## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> *Okies great , no rush . I'll go in and pay now though  I know Ive done it then *



That's terrific AM, thank you! 

I'm still looking for those 50p guesses though!  Or ?10 a poem!


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## rossi_mac (Aug 24, 2009)

The weeks going well, not much booze, so will be up for a large donation by the end of it. So my prediction/the answer is....

time 1:45:33

other thing  4.9

Is that book really good? I haven't read any books on diabloodybetes.


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## Northerner (Aug 24, 2009)

rossi_mac said:


> The weeks going well, not much booze, so will be up for a large donation by the end of it. So my prediction/the answer is....
> 
> time 1:45:33
> 
> ...



Cheers Rossi! The book really brings it home to you how things might have been if not for Messrs. Banting and Best! And not forgetting Dog 33 of course! (You'll need to read the book to see how much she means to us all!)


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## rossi_mac (Aug 24, 2009)

Northerner said:


> Cheers Rossi! The book really brings it home to you how things might have been if not for Messrs. Banting and Best! And not forgetting Dog 33 of course! (You'll need to read the book to see how much she means to us all!)



Hmm okay, I've been meaning to read more lately, so maybe I should. Cheers for the tip, I think I'll go and flick the book section of this 'ear forum site.


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## Sugarbum (Aug 24, 2009)

....Im wondering if you actually need to run the race at all Northerner? If your original pitch was write a poem about the sponsor for a donation to the JDRF I think you would raised the same amount!!

I think you will complete the course in 1 hour and 59 minutes ( obviously thats not including the 4 hours you may or may not spend in A&E!). 

I predict your final blood glucose will be 6.6mmols.

(I do hope as a stickler for the rules you have your metre checked and verified by an external adjudicator and a test strip selected at random by a member of the general public...) ....damn I watch too much deal or no deal!


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## SacredHeart (Aug 25, 2009)

Just popped a donation on there for you. Aaaaand for a guess. I'm going to for 5.4, and finishing time of 1hr 46mins


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## Northerner (Aug 25, 2009)

SacredHeart said:


> Just popped a donation on there for you. Aaaaand for a guess. I'm going to for 5.4, and finishing time of 1hr 46mins



Lovely! Thank you my dear!


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## SacredHeart (Aug 25, 2009)

No problem. You're getting really near your goal now! I'm very impressed


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## Northerner (Aug 25, 2009)

SacredHeart said:


> No problem. You're getting really near your goal now! I'm very impressed



It's gone extremely well so far - 69% in a week! Come on everyone, let's have your guesses and your 50p's! (Or your life savings, whichever is the greater...)

Sugarbum, you do make me laugh! Some friends of mine wanted to go on Deal or No Deal, and they had to write a poem as the initial selection stage, which they asked me to write - these are the poems I gave them:

I think I saw The Banker,
I wonder if he’d deal,
For me to keep the secret of
What speedos can reveal?!!

The Banker has no scruples,
And always finds a way
To find some little loopholes
But I’m going to make him pay!!!

The Banker should be worried
I’ll get inside his head,
And when I get to 8-box,
All my numbers will be RED!!!

They chose the second poem, but won't hear for ages if they've got through.


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## Sugarbum (Aug 25, 2009)

Northener! No, you make ME laugh!!!!

My sister applied for Deal or No Deal and she asked me to write HER poem!

Ive just asked her on messenger if we still have it, it was DREADFUL- not as good as yours! but she cant find it (thats not such a bad thing....!).

Obviously I negotiated a cut of the winnings, giving the fact if she gets through I expect her to win and provide me with a life of luxury. I hope you did the same? 

Anyway, back to the race....I see you are doing very well at ?178! Well done! Keep up the good work!


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2009)

For those of you who are nosy/interested, I posted a slideshow of one of my training routes on my blog today: 

http://diabetespoetry.blogspot.com/

Weather is a bit gloomier today! But an ideal day for everyone to copper up and enter my competition!


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## katie (Aug 26, 2009)

At first I thought "gahh, you have to run where people can see you!" lol, but there are some very nice quiet looking places too   I'm so glad I live in the countryside sometimes, otherwise i'd never go for a run because I'm too self-conscious!

Is that a quay? or a river or something?


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2009)

It's the River Itchen There are usually some people around, but it doesn't bother me too much except when the hysterical women start swooning and I have to keep hurdling them...


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 26, 2009)

My pop up blocker keeps blocking it !!! its not porn is it ?


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## katie (Aug 26, 2009)

Northerner said:


> It's the River Itchen There are usually some people around, but it doesn't bother me too much except when the hysterical women start swooning and I have to keep hurdling them...



it looks very nice. yeah it must be difficult to carry on running with all those beautiful women running along beside you 



insulinaddict09 said:


> My pop up blocker keeps blocking it !!! its not porn is it ?



not unless you have a duck fettish!


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 26, 2009)

katie said:


> it looks very nice. yeah it must be difficult to carry on running with all those beautiful women running along beside you
> 
> 
> 
> not unless you have a duck fettish!



hahahahaha Twin shhh dont start me off laughing again ffs 

Hmm I cant have a look , its not fair  bloody pop-up blocker ... Im trying to 

over-ride it but its a stubborn f***** and wont let me ! Grrr


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> My pop up blocker keeps blocking it !!! its not porn is it ?



You can allow pop-ups from that one site, and I think choose whether it's just the once or every time you visit the site. Don't worry, it's safe!


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## katie (Aug 26, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> hahahahaha Twin shhh dont start me off laughing again ffs
> 
> Hmm I cant have a look , its not fair  bloody pop-up blocker ... Im trying to
> 
> over-ride it but its a stubborn f***** and wont let me ! Grrr



twin, i just brought the tone right down in the one liners thread oops!

haha yep, now you've got me laughing


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 26, 2009)

Northerner said:


> You can allow pop-ups from that one site, and I think choose whether it's just the once or every time you visit the site. Don't worry, it's safe!



Ive tried to over-ride the blocker but it still wont show me anything  I can see your page but no pics !! Hmm I'll try again .


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2009)

insulinaddict09 said:


> Ive tried to over-ride the blocker but it still wont show me anything  I can see your page but no pics !! Hmm I'll try again .



Hmmm...it works fine on my XP machine, but not on my Vista laptop - no idea why, perhaps it's the same problem for you? I might try doing it with Facebook or Picasa and see if that makes any difference.


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## allisonb (Aug 27, 2009)

1 hour 47 minutes and 32 seconds.  BG a perfect 5 I think!

Good luck!


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## Northerner (Aug 27, 2009)

allisonb said:


> 1 hour 47 minutes and 32 seconds.  BG a perfect 5 I think!
> 
> Good luck!



That's wonderful Allison, thank you! And thank you for the vote of confidence on the time and BG level!


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## Northerner (Aug 27, 2009)

OK, I thought I would summarise the guesstimates we have so far. Obviously no-one is expecting me to go hyper, with BG level ranging from 4.9-6.6. There's quite a broad spread on the finishing time too, from 1:45:33 to 1:59:00. Looks like you all expect me to improve on last years time of 2 hrs+!


Rossi_Mac              4.9	1:45:33
Becky/SacredHeart	  5.4	1:46:00
allisonb	               5	1:47:32
Patricia	               5         1:47:50
Heidi/Sasha1	  6.3	1:49:40
Katie	               5.3	1:50:00
Nikki/sofaraway	  6.2	1:51:00
Bev	               5.1	1:58:30
Lou/Sugarbum	  6.6	1:59:00​
Come on guys, more guesses please!


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## Mand (Aug 28, 2009)

Ok. I am going to guess 4.8 and a finish time of 1hr 52 mins and 30 seconds.


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## Northerner (Aug 28, 2009)

Mand said:


> Ok. I am going to guess 4.8 and a finish time of 1hr 52 mins and 30 seconds.



Thanks Mand! The BG guesses are getting lower, but at least no-one has got me out of range yet!


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## Northerner (Sep 4, 2009)

*bump* 

Still time to enter the competition!!!


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## Corrine (Sep 4, 2009)

OK - I'm gonna go 1:57 and 25 secs and 5.2.


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## Northerner (Sep 5, 2009)

Corrine said:


> OK - I'm gonna go 1:57 and 25 secs and 5.2.



Hi Corrine! You have to sponsor me for 50p or more to enter Cheap at half the price!


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## Munjeeta (Sep 5, 2009)

Right. Donated. I think you will finish in 1 hr 48 mins and 33 secs. And I think your blood sugar will be 5.9 on finishing. A reading I can only dream of


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## Northerner (Sep 5, 2009)

Thank you Munjeeta, really appreciated! 

You'll get there with the readings - haven't you got your carb-counting course coming up soon?


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## Munjeeta (Sep 5, 2009)

Yep - Nov. Can't wait


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## Tezzz (Sep 6, 2009)

I've just sponsored you Northerner...

I predict your finishing blood sugar to be 4.8 and your finishing time to be 1 hour 49 minutes and 06 seconds.


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## Northerner (Sep 6, 2009)

brightontez said:


> I've just sponsored you Northerner...
> 
> I predict your finishing blood sugar to be 4.8 and your finishing time to be 1 hour 49 minutes and 06 seconds.



Brilliant Tez, thank you! Ooh! 4.8 sounds a bit low, but it's just as likely as anything else! Hopefully, I won't get the urge to gorge on jelly babies half a mile from the end!


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## shiv (Sep 6, 2009)

couldn't find where else to post this so...i've donated ?13.50 which takes you to your target of ?250 

edit...dammit, i should have done ?14 or something so it took you over 100%...ah well!


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## Northerner (Sep 6, 2009)

shiv said:


> couldn't find where else to post this so...i've donated ?13.50 which takes you to your target of ?250
> 
> edit...dammit, i should have done ?14 or something so it took you over 100%...ah well!



Wow shiv, that's terrific! Thank you very much! The target was just plucked out of the air really - they make you set one when you set the page up, so I based it on what I would normally hope to raise. The fact that I've reached that target with 7 weeks still to go makes me hope that I will exceed it before the race!

p.s. are you going to try and guess my BG level and finish time?


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## shiv (Sep 6, 2009)

i'll go with...5.2 (i take it you're testing right after you finish, not like, 15 min later? ) and i'm going to take a really random guess at 1h, 52min and 46s.


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## Northerner (Sep 6, 2009)

shiv said:


> i'll go with...5.2 (i take it you're testing right after you finish, not like, 15 min later? ) and i'm going to take a really random guess at 1h, 52min and 46s.



Terrific! It will be as soon as I can get my hands warm enough to get some blood out - it was very cold and wet last year by the end!


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## Corrine (Sep 7, 2009)

Northerner said:


> Hi Corrine! You have to sponsor me for 50p or more to enter Cheap at half the price!



Apologies Northerner - I obviously didn't read the thread properly!  I've just done a tenner.....


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## Northerner (Sep 7, 2009)

Corrine said:


> Apologies Northerner - I obviously didn't read the thread properly!  I've just done a tenner.....



That's fantastic Corrine! Thank you!!!


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## Tezzz (Sep 7, 2009)

Northerner said:


> Brilliant Tez, thank you! Ooh! 4.8 sounds a bit low, but it's just as likely as anything else! Hopefully, I won't get the urge to gorge on jelly babies half a mile from the end!



I thought 4.8 would be a good 'middle' reading to have and it was the reading I had after going out for a jog/run/walk with my friends the other day.


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## Northerner (Sep 7, 2009)

brightontez said:


> I thought 4.8 would be a good 'middle' reading to have and it was the reading I had after going out for a jog/run/walk with my friends the other day.



Ah! Great Tez - did you enjoy the JRW? Will you be doing it on a regular basis?


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## Northerner (Sep 9, 2009)

Any more for the competition? Sponsorship is now up to ?290 - every penny counts!

Here are the rules again:


Sponsor me for 50p or more to enter. Those who have already sponsored me can have a go straightaway!
Guess my finishing  blood glucose level. I have no idea what this might be, as so much depends on the day. Hopefully, it will not be TOO high or TOO low!
As there are likely to be some duplicate guesses, the tie-breaker will be to guess my finish time in hours:minute:seconds - the closest will then win!

The prizes will be:


 First: A copy of 'The Discovery of Insulin' by Michael Bliss - a 'must-read' for anyone with diabetes, or caring for someone with it.
 Second and third: A personalised poem written by me on the subject of your choice - can be for you, or someone's birthday - whatever you want!

To enter, sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/NorthernerJDRF/ then post your guesses here!

My finish time last year was just over two hours, to give you an idea, but I hope to do better than that this year


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## Northerner (Sep 14, 2009)

Anyone else want to sponsor me and enter the competition? 

I managed to go for my first run in two weeks today, after injuring my calf last time out. Survived, so hopefully there will be no more catastrophies before the big day! Will look forward to seeing anyone who can make it to cheer me (and everyone else!) on - will try to arrange something nearer the time!

You can read about my latest run, and browse my training and poems, on my blog at:

http://diabetespoetry.blogspot.com/


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## Northerner (Sep 16, 2009)

*bump*

Anyone else want to enter? Less than 6 weeks to go now!


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## sofaraway (Sep 16, 2009)

Hows the leg? might want to alter my time if you are going to be hopping round the course!


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## Northerner (Sep 16, 2009)

sofaraway said:


> Hows the leg? might want to alter my time if you are going to be hopping round the course!



Hehe! Too late! The leg is much better, thanks - I was able to go for a short run on Monday without mishaps and will be going out again tomorrow, all being well!

My sponsorship has stalled though


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## rossi_mac (Sep 16, 2009)

Northerner said:


> Hehe! Too late! The leg is much better, thanks - I was able to go for a short run on Monday without mishaps and will be going out again tomorrow, all being well!
> 
> My sponsorship has stalled though



Hey North' glad the limbs are getting fixed, make sure you don't push yourself too much! Keep pushing for the dough tho!


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## Northerner (Sep 22, 2009)

Hurrah! Got my running vest from JDRF today! It's got a big picture of Pingu on it 

Now up to ?300 on the sponsorship but still ?100 off my target! If anyone wants to enter the competition, see my post at the beginning of the thread  Only 50p to enter!!


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## katie (Sep 25, 2009)

*bump*

Think of the children... donate what you can


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## Northerner (Sep 30, 2009)

I have just got my race number through today, so look out for number 6733! (Hint: I will not be the one outsprinting the three Africans on the finishing straight!)




Northerner said:


> Any more for the competition? Sponsorship is now up to ?312 - every penny counts!
> 
> Here are the rules again:
> 
> ...


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