Pat,

Ok, it's time for me to "run" the talk. Time for me to put into play what I preach and to venture out of my comfort zone. Each year I take control of a pace group in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon and last year I opted for the 1.40 group in the Half fearing that the 1.30 group was not within my capability. Sad I know, given the fact it was less than 10 years ago when I was regularly knocking out low 60's.

Believe it or not, I still hold the record for the fastest Half ever run in Australia - 61.11.

Anyway, I'm considering dropping to the 1.30 group this year and I can assure you this will involve some serious last minute/crash course prep and also some soul searching on July 4. But hey - I'm up for the challenge - providing (yeah here's the proviso) that my personal fundraising tally on everydayhero surpasses $2000.

Fundraising???? Yes, this year PCRG has elected the Black Dog Institute as our charity beneficiary. The Black Dog Institute is an educational, research, clinical and community-oriented facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders - a range of disorders that include depression and Bipolar Disorder (formerly called 'manic depression'). The Institute is attached to the Prince of Wales Hospital and affiliated with the University of New South Wales.

We chose this charity after it was put forward by a PCRG member who had recently lost his brother to suicide as a result of depression. Adding to this it was only last week I recalled that I lost my best mate to suicide (also Pat) when he was 21 and also a cousin.

Possibly you have a charity that you donate to and if this is the case - good on you! On the other hand if you would like to donate to a worthy cause (and give me reason to "run" the talk) you can do so online here via c/c.

If you prefer to donate via EFT.

You may like to join the PCRG online fundraising team. It's a simple procedure.

If you're involving an event @ the Coast I encourage you to stay true to your goal and to knock over some healthy k's during the next few weeks. It will be a ripper of a day.

Cheers

Pat