YES! - I Made It!  

 I got a sore tail end, 9 blisters and felt very tired and stiff, but I made it. It was a long haul, with good conditions at the beginning but a strong wind in the second half. It felt like rowing in treacle and rather slowed things up.

 

I set off with my friend Steve Drury at 07.45 on Sunday Morning in calm, sunny and warm conditions and the first 2 laps (16 miles) went well, although the wind, the last thing we really wanted, was beginning to get up.

 

My son James and his Fiancée Min did "safety duty" and followed on bikes along the bank.

 

I survived a collision with a sailing dinghy who tacked tightly across my bows and then expected me to be able to stop dead. He said he hadn't seen me! Hmmm!. We took a break just after this (about 11.00) at the landing stage for food and essential facilities, then set off again into a freshening breeze and in rougher water, with the upwind stretches becoming a real haul just as we were getting tired.

 

However, Some friends came to cheer (Thank you Fran and Dave) just when it was getting tough and that was a great tonic.

 

It was great to get to the landing stage at the end of the marathon to be met by my wife Gill, and James and Min. I promise you, I was very happy to get out of that boat!

 

I am still unsure of how much you have all have finally raised for me. You may have seen that I increased my target a day or two ago because of the generous response I had received up to that point.

 

Thanks to your generosity, I am well on the way to meeting the revised target.

 

I have been quite overwhelmed by the fantastic support which all of you, plus a number of people whose names do not appear on the website have given to the cause of research into ME. This is a disease which although devastating to many lives, often gets little attention, and hopefully my efforts will have raised awareness as well as money.

 

But there is still some to come in. Once I have totaled up the on line, e-mail and verbal promises of support, then I’ll be in touch again

 

Once again, many, many thanks for your support.

  

John Bigglestone

 

My initial request was as follows

 

All types of people at all ages are affected by ME, otherwise known as Chromic Fatigue Syndrome or in the USA Chronic Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

 

The symptoms include Severe and debilitating fatigue, painful muscles and joints, disordered sleep, gastric disturbances and poor memory. In some the effects may be minimal but in a large number, lives are changed drastically: in the young, schooling and higher education can be severely disrupted; in the working population, employment becomes impossible for many. For all, social life and family life become restricted and in some cases severely strained. People may be housebound or confined to bed for months or years.

 

It is not well understood by the medical profession, and my wife Gill suffers from it quite badly.

 

I am 65 next birthday and I would like to raise my revised target of £2,500 for research, to go to “Action for M.E.” by doing a marathon. Not on the road, but in a sculling boat

 

I am asking all my friends and colleagues to sponsor me to complete the distance,

 

This will be three circuits (8 miles each) “lock to lock” on the Thames at Kingston – on – Thames plus a loop up to Ravens Ait and back to add the other 2 miles and I will do this on Sunday 23 October, weather permitting.

 

Please tell me you are willing to help me reach my target.

 

 

John Bigglestone