After nearly twenty years, I am facing the very stark realisation of a partial end of an era with Fishing for Schools. Yes, I might have grumbled about it, moaned at all the aches and pains, but raising funds through marathons and other - often entirely eccentric - ideas involving physical hardship has been something I have truly enjoyed.
On Sunday 18 October I will be undertaking my last effort – The Jurassic Coast Challenge. It will be tough.
But the time to stop is now.
Frankly, bits of my body are literally worn to the bone and I will need surgery. That is a daunting thing… more daunting than doing a few miles along the Jurassic coast with my little dog Cai for company.
But what I will miss is the life-enhancing training, the dedication of getting up in all weathers in order to keep fit enough to do this madness. That is something to bear in mind when it comes to supporting our London Marathon team next year.
OK, the day itself is the focus, the celebration. But those few hours on the streets of London (or wherever) are the culmination of hour upon hour of drudgery – often in terrible weather – to get the miles in: to tone the muscles, pray you don’t have an injury and drive yourself harder and harder so that you are “race-ready”.
Oddly, that is what I shall miss. Miles of running in all weathers brings into sharp focus what matters; be that in life, work and, indeed, your world as a whole. But I will doubtless find something else to drive myself ever forwards.
The end game has always been Fishing for Schools, and the thousands of young people we try to help, offering opportunity, opening doors to hitherto unknown natural worlds. The goal has always been to offer young people of all types of persuasion and ability, the key to a door to imagination and the electrifying prospect of their first fish or natural encounter.
These young people have always been – always will be – my focus, the reason to endure, the reason to do my very best. They are well worth the odd tired muscle.
So please, this time – this one last time – help me to help a whole world of young people explore the universe of angling in all its many colours, shades, variations and opportunities.
Your support will also help ease all those aches at the finish line...
And I will finish!
Many thanks,
Charles
Please support Charles as he takes on the Jurassic Coast Challenge in aid of Fishing for Schools. Donate at: Jurassic Coast Challenge | Fishing for Schools