Kirsty runs the London Marathon 2012 by kirstymcsweeney

Last night was the first of several fundraising events that we have planned to help us (hopefully) smash our £2500 target for the South West Thames Kidney Fund. 

We held a quiz night in Fleet, Hampshire and despite the cold weather that could have kept people indoors staying toasty by the fire, it was a roaring success that raised over £600!  Keri, my sister in law worked so hard to bring it all together, including hiring the best quiz master in the world and all her hard work paid off!

In addition to the work that we are doing ourselves to raise awareness of this challenge, we are both very lucky to have incredibly supportive families rallying round getting bums on seats for our events and spreading news of what we are doing.  They are working tirelessly on our behalf to help with our fundraising and it is making such a difference.

I have to admit that the fundraising was one of the bits I was most dreading - more so than the training!  Because I knew that actually getting out there on the streets and running was down to me and that if I want to make it round the course on the 22nd April fit, safe and well, then I would just have to put in the hard graft and keep on running.  Easy right? But asking people for money?  Yikes!  Not something that comes easily to me.

But last night proved that you can fundraise in a fun way, giving people something back and actually having fun whilst doing it.  Plus it is an excellent opportunity to thank people in person for their support. 

I am really excited about the other events to come and hope that they will be as much of a success as last night, not just for the fundraising aspect but also because it really spurred me on during my long run today and kept my legs going when my mind wanted to give in!