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And folks, that's a wrap

Last week I had the privilege to be invited to the Anthony Nolan Supporters' Awards.

It was emotionally charged; a night chock full of remembrance, celebration and pride.

We heard about the volunteers that keep the organisation ticking. We heard all about the scientists behind some of the advancements in Anthony Nolan's care.

 We heard from survivors, celebrities, and about some extraordinary people doing extraordinarily selfless things.
One of the stories we heard was from a parent of a child that had been saved by an Anthony Nolan donor.

 She spoke bravely about the fight they'd had, the moment her son was diagnosed, and the relief she felt when they found a donor.

 The young man who had joined the register and saved a life was in the room at the ceremony, beaming from ear to ear.
The applause was deafening, and tears ran freely down the faces of many of the onlookers.

 The story was Rupert's, and you can check it out here:
Boy, 10, meets his 'superman' life-saver, BBC News

It was a really powerful moment.

One person had completed a simple sign up to the donor register, and it ended up saving a life.

I've come to the end of this 12 month fundraising challenge, and I'm so proud.

We've added nearly 10 people to the list of eligible matches through contacts and word of mouth.

[It could have been closer to 20 but unfortunately we're all getting on a bit, and Anthony Nolan weren't too keen on those grey hairs we're growing, and a few people who tried weren't able to join!]

We've nearly raised enough money to pay for another 50 donors to join the register, a shade under £2000.

The original target was £1000, but I soon had to stretch it out thanks to the generosity of you wonderful readers.

We hit £1500 and I stretched it again.

Then I started to run out of friends, colleagues and family members.

Never mind!

 That money will make such a difference to someone, somewhere at some time, and I am so pleased we've helped.

Thinking back to when I started off this journey with a 5 mile warm up, I could never have imagined some of the sights I'd see, the things I'd do, and the challenges I'd face.

Let's take a very quick look in numbers:

      0 - The number of events I was looking forward to
      2 - Completed ultra-marathons this year
      7 - the height (in metres) of that bloody jump into water that I'll never forget
    10 - kilometres, the furthest training run I managed to complete back in March
    22 - miles; the first "big" event, an obstacle run, the famous Dirty Weekend
  150 - the approximate number of miles that I've run, jogged, walked in the races
  200 - the 3 day mountain biking coast to coast, The Crossing, covered 200 miles
2652 - the number of miles of driving we've done to get to and from these events

I'll kind of miss doing the updates, the start line nerves, and the early-in-the-race-lack-of-training regret.

 I'll miss hearing what the money raised is doing for the charity from the super-encouraging Megan from the AN Events team, and I'll miss the motivation factor of making a difference.

As I mentioned before - but it bears repeating - my wife has been incredible, following me round the country and popping up unexpectedly en-route for a heart warming hug and a bright and reassuring word in my ear to help me on my way. An absolute diamond.

It's been a blast.

Thousands and thousands of feet of ascent and descent across some of the UK's beautiful national parks.

8 big, tough, multi-terrain events. 11 medals hanging as memories on my wall.

One seriously proud and grateful Anthony Nolan fundraiser.

Thanks for your support x

Instagram: philvsnature
Twitter: @PhilJ0606

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