New York New York
On the back there is a "Go For It Matt" car sticker. The website is a bit out of date, but Matt King is a seriously inspirational guy. In April 2004, 17 year old Matt King broke his neck in a rugby accident whilst playing for London Broncos and is now paralysed from the neck down. He's on a ventilator all the time and needs constant care.
There have been various fundraising efforts for him, and in particular, the charity XIII Heroes was set up, which has a broader aim, to support other people injured while playing rugby. I went to a charity event they organised last night, and have been involved in various things they've done in the past.
Matt has made good progress. He's still paralysed, and he still needs the ventilator, but he refuses it to stop him doing things. Now he's been helped by the generosity of others, he is determined to help raise money for other people in his situation. He's studying at university, he's been skiing, and he's completed a half marathon.
In the Great North Run he was the first person in his condition to ever complete the run. It was so unusual that even on the morning of the race the race director was unsure about letting him take part. I believe he might even be the first person on a ventilator to complete any half marathon, or if others have done it, not many of them. Getting him round a half marathon isn't just a case of charging the wheelchair and letting him go, it needs a team of people to clear a path, move water bottles, sort out blockages, and so on. I really wanted to take part, but it was the week after Berlin and I didn't feel like I'd be up to it.
Now Matt wants to go one better. He wants to do a marathon. This is where the problems start. For profile raising for the charity, and fund raising, the bigger the better. However, he's been refused entry to FLM on safety grounds. He's not the only one. I've seen these two guys at races in the past, and they've had the same problem. They've done countless races, halves and marathons, and their times are pretty good. 1:43 for a half marathon pushing a wheelchair, and 4:04 for a marathon doing the same is some achievement. They know what they're doing. But they're not allowed to do FLM. It seems that chairs are only allowed in the wheelchair race, not in the main race. So you can dress 10 people up as a giant caterpillar, but you can't push a wheelchair. So FLM is out.
However, it seems that other marathons might be more accommodating. They want a big one, so they're looking at New York. Now, getting Matt over there would be a serious logistical nightmare, but if anyone can sort it, those guys can. So we have two problems. Getting him accepted for the race, and getting him there. But, and it's still a big but, if we do, then they need runners. More bodies to raise money, but more importantly, to get Matt round.
So it came to pass that at 3.30am, in a hotel bar in Huddersfield, I was asked if I want to run the New York Marathon this year.
You need to ask?
There is one snag. It's two weeks after Amsterdam, which I entered last week. At first I was hesitant. But the more I think about it, the more I think it could work. I'd do Amsterdam for me, and I'd do New York for Matt. Despite the fact that he can get up to 6mph on his chair, in reality the bottles and crowds slow him down a lot, and they're looking at a time over 5:30 (they did GNR in about 2:57). I'm not saying it would be easy to back up, but it would be the sort of race where the important thing is sticking together as a team at the speed of the slowest runner, and putting safety above speed. Finishing it will be the achievement for Matt, not the time.
And I'd be proud to help him. The event last night was for another injured player, who has a back injury and is in constant pain, walking with a stick. Matt said, in all seriousness that he would prefer to be as he is than in Ian's position, because "at least he isn't in pain". That's such a positive outlook on the whole thing, he's determined to make the most of life, do everything he can do, whether people think he can or not, and to give back what he can. How could I not want to help him do a marathon?
So there's still a lot of hurdles to jump, but if he does it, then I'll be there next to him.
There have been various fundraising efforts for him, and in particular, the charity XIII Heroes was set up, which has a broader aim, to support other people injured while playing rugby. I went to a charity event they organised last night, and have been involved in various things they've done in the past.
Matt has made good progress. He's still paralysed, and he still needs the ventilator, but he refuses it to stop him doing things. Now he's been helped by the generosity of others, he is determined to help raise money for other people in his situation. He's studying at university, he's been skiing, and he's completed a half marathon.
In the Great North Run he was the first person in his condition to ever complete the run. It was so unusual that even on the morning of the race the race director was unsure about letting him take part. I believe he might even be the first person on a ventilator to complete any half marathon, or if others have done it, not many of them. Getting him round a half marathon isn't just a case of charging the wheelchair and letting him go, it needs a team of people to clear a path, move water bottles, sort out blockages, and so on. I really wanted to take part, but it was the week after Berlin and I didn't feel like I'd be up to it.
Now Matt wants to go one better. He wants to do a marathon. This is where the problems start. For profile raising for the charity, and fund raising, the bigger the better. However, he's been refused entry to FLM on safety grounds. He's not the only one. I've seen these two guys at races in the past, and they've had the same problem. They've done countless races, halves and marathons, and their times are pretty good. 1:43 for a half marathon pushing a wheelchair, and 4:04 for a marathon doing the same is some achievement. They know what they're doing. But they're not allowed to do FLM. It seems that chairs are only allowed in the wheelchair race, not in the main race. So you can dress 10 people up as a giant caterpillar, but you can't push a wheelchair. So FLM is out.
However, it seems that other marathons might be more accommodating. They want a big one, so they're looking at New York. Now, getting Matt over there would be a serious logistical nightmare, but if anyone can sort it, those guys can. So we have two problems. Getting him accepted for the race, and getting him there. But, and it's still a big but, if we do, then they need runners. More bodies to raise money, but more importantly, to get Matt round.
So it came to pass that at 3.30am, in a hotel bar in Huddersfield, I was asked if I want to run the New York Marathon this year.
You need to ask?
There is one snag. It's two weeks after Amsterdam, which I entered last week. At first I was hesitant. But the more I think about it, the more I think it could work. I'd do Amsterdam for me, and I'd do New York for Matt. Despite the fact that he can get up to 6mph on his chair, in reality the bottles and crowds slow him down a lot, and they're looking at a time over 5:30 (they did GNR in about 2:57). I'm not saying it would be easy to back up, but it would be the sort of race where the important thing is sticking together as a team at the speed of the slowest runner, and putting safety above speed. Finishing it will be the achievement for Matt, not the time.
And I'd be proud to help him. The event last night was for another injured player, who has a back injury and is in constant pain, walking with a stick. Matt said, in all seriousness that he would prefer to be as he is than in Ian's position, because "at least he isn't in pain". That's such a positive outlook on the whole thing, he's determined to make the most of life, do everything he can do, whether people think he can or not, and to give back what he can. How could I not want to help him do a marathon?
So there's still a lot of hurdles to jump, but if he does it, then I'll be there next to him.
posted by YP at 6:19 PM
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