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ISLAMIC RELIEF
Donor runs London Marathon for Islamic Relief
23/06/08
Islamic Relief has been organising a wide range of events over the last few years to help people to challenge themselves whilst raising money for a good cause. This year was the turn of Sister Martina Somalova who, masha’Allah, ran the London Marathon for Islamic Relief.
After completing the challenge, she wrote a short summary of her experiences. They are as follows:
Training |
It was my very first marathon and I began my training at the end of October. Unfortunately, at the beginning of February, I was struck with an inflamed appendix and required medical treatment and, therefore, I had to stop training for 3 weeks. I was determined to go ahead and still participate in the marathon.
At the end of February I was able to start training again and in one month I was able to run my longest run ever, 20 miles. I had lots of questions; am I training too hard? Am I not training hard enough? Should I train long, slow runs or short, fast runs? What trainers should I use? What food is good for me while training? There are so many different ideas about which are correct and I needed to decide which are good for me and which are not, as it is me that has to run the 26.2 miles in the end.
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Marathon begins |
I can not put into words how it feels to run the London marathon because it is all about feelings and feelings are the hardest things to put to words. How it makes me feel and all the emotions I got through from the start of training to the end of the 26.2 miles are too many to recall… Can I do it? I had asked myself this a lot over the five months I spent training. So at the age of 29 I was wondering if I was too old and wishing I had done it when I was younger.
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| Snowdon Challenge 07 |
In the midst of one of the wettest ever summers, sisters from around the UK took part in a challenge to hike up Mount Snowdon to raise funds for Africa. Taking part in three groups (Bradford, Birmingham and London), a total of 154 sisters completed the trek, braving wet, windy and cold weather conditions to successfully accomplish the challenge.
To Read more on last years Snowdon Challenge click here |
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But if you had seen what I had seen on 13 April 2008, then you would know, as I do, that age is not a reason or excuse for not being fit. There were seventy year old men and women passing me at the nineteen mile mark at Canary Wharf. The most embarrassing moment was at the twenty second mile mark...thinking I was doing ok...and getting overtaken by a Toilet Seat!!
I was very nervous beforehand, the challenge, the excitement, sore muscles, the final hard four miles when rain, wind and hail started (even then I was thinking “Can I do it again please?”). The crowds were superb standing there under their umbrellas and shouting supporting words for the runners. I practically sprinted the last mile; the final push down The Mall was amazing!
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| The finishing line |
Everyone was talking about hitting “the wall” and my moment arrived at the last 400 meters, when the distance seemed endless. But only minutes after crossing the finishing line, I was already worried about registering on time for next years marathon …this could become addictive…
Telling my friends what I was going to do, seeing their faces, reaction, and finally the respect I got when I completed it. The money I raised for charity is almost irrelevant in the large plan of things, although I had a great sense of happiness when I got all the money on my fundraising account; knowing I did this for Islamic Relief, doing it for others and not just for myself, it’s a wonderful feeling in itself.
The challenge is timeless and when I did it, I knew I had achieved something special and been part of something that was special to a lot of people. The marathon is special because it lifts the spirit of everyone, there is goodness in humanity and made the experience one to be treasured forever.
When I finished, I felt like I did something that at first was too big, too hard, too much for me to take on. Yet I did and I won. I mean won in the way completing the course is winning. I feel like I can do more than before. I realise that not only have I got the ability to surprise others, but I also have the ability to surprise myself. And then I started to think to myself that if I can do this then what else can I do? The answers seem less restricted now. |
Do you want to challenge yourself?
If you click here, yyou will see the Islamic Relief challenges website. It lists all of the remaining challenges that will be organised this year; perhaps you could participate in one of them. If you click here, you will be taken to the link for the Islamic Relief Snowdon Challenge.
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| , will be to register onto one of these challenges and then get fit enough to complete it. Can you do it? Of course you can!!! Please phone 0121 380 2380 and ask to speak to Zaid al-Rawni, who will be delighted to speak to you about the 2008 Islamic Relief Challenges. |
If you would like to donate to Islamic relief’s work, you can do so in one of two quick and easy methods. First, you can click here to donate quickly and safely online using your credit or debit card.
If you prefer to speak to someone, you can phone our UK-based call centre on 0800 520 0000 to speak to one of our fully trained staff members. They will also be able to answer any questions you have, or find the answers for you.
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