Steve Cram's Celebrity Golf Day in aid of COCO
Do you fancy yourself as a keen golfer? Join Steve Cram, COCO and a host of celebrities for our golf day on the 15th June at the magnificent De Vere Slaley Hall in Northumberland. For more details and to enter a team please click here.
How COCO Changed My Life
Thursday 26th August 2010
If, back in 1997 after my wife had just died from breast cancer when I was 50 years of age, someone had told me that I would go on to complete over 100 marathons or longer within 13 years, I would have said impossible. At the time I was 4 stones overweight, very unfit and had thought life was taking me in a totally different direction.
However, it is because I came to know about COCO that this has all happened. I got back into running a few miles a week only to try and get fit and had almost accidentally got into running the London marathon in 2002 (my 4th marathon at that time, having done 2 in my 30s and one other, really again by chance, the year before). Although I entered London for 2003 to try and improve my time, I failed in the ballot so looked for something 'different'!
I certainly found it! 'It' was an advert invitation from COCO to 'come and run for us in the 56 miles Comrades Marathon in South Africa in 2003'. My first reaction was to say no-way, this was madness, with an 'ordinary' marathon being more than enough without trying to run over twice that distance! But I could not get the idea out of my mind, especially since I was 56 in 2003 so there was inviting fund raising connection to exploit.
of course that is exactly what I did, and this year my 100th marathon was my 5th completion of this amazing race. Finding out that you could extend yourself into previously unchartered territory totally changed my life, especially when I was able to see first-hand the work COCO was doing in South Africa when we visited the iThemba Lethu project in Durban that COCO helps to fund.
It was also through running that I met Edward, a director of COCO, and we have gone on to set up our 'Ed and Phil' business together, writing and selling our running books to sports shops and also distributing a range of products from socks to clothing, and from nutrition products to head torches, to sports and outdoor retailers throughout the UK.
I have now run in the TeamCOCO vest on many occasions and always raise at least a few pounds each year - including doing charity talks about the 'Ed and Phil' racing challenges in regions such as the Arctic Circle and Kalahari Desert, asking for a COCO donation in return.
Phil is pictured here after finishing his 5th Comrades Marathon. Congratulations Phil!
COCO are extremely grateful to Phil for all his support over the years and for sharing his story with us.
If you are interested in running the Comrades Marathon please contact Laura - laura@coco.org.uk.
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