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Today saw us complete our biggest run so far, 10 miles! As  you can see from the picture the route took us around parts of Cannock Chase, ‘An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, not sure we shared that same thought for two hours this morning though!

We set off at a fantastic pace and managed to maintain this for the first three miles.   Persevering, the wind beat against us and hills loomed above us but we pushed on.

At times it felt like the lower half of Kate’s body had stiffened with rust but a few leg rubs and army style inspirational talks kept her moving.  At 8 miles Kate began crying uncontrollably not through pain but sheer emotion.  Thanks to a more controlled John we pushed on through to the end.

Pacing ourselves with a sensible run 1 mile, walk 1 minute (or hobble 1 minute for Kate) we took in some fantastic views admiring the more than beautiful residences of the Chase.

Upon our return we plunged into an ice bath and with blue feet we now feel the need to sleep! Baked beans consumed we’re settling down for a Sunday afternoon snoozing with the dog and the ice packs! Back to the gym tomorrow and we go again.

Be All You Can Be.

John & Kate.

www.lupusrunner.co.uk

Tags: hibbsy, John Hibbs, Lupus, WMLG, Virgin London Marathon, vlm, hibbs, Virgin London Marathon

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It is a great feeling when someone comes up to you and says “how do I donate?”.

Well it’s really simple thanks to JustGiving. There are many ‘Sponsor me’ links on this site which will take you to our secure sponsor page . LUPUS UK gets your money straight away and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, JustGiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

It doesn’t matter how much you give, every single penny will help make a difference. All the money we raise will be used to help continue funding the Lupus UK specialist nurse and the Lupus UK research co-ordinator, both based at Queen Elizabeth/City Hospitals, Birmingham – the first fully patient-funded posts of their kind in the UK.

Thank you for your support!

John & Kate

www.lupusrunner.co.uk

Tags: hibbsy, John Hibbs, Lupus, WMLG, Virgin London Marathon, vlm, hibbs, Virgin London Marathon

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I have just come back from collecting our Virgin London Marathon running vests from the printers. I am delighted with how they look!! Thank you to ES-Print from Hednesford.

We are now 53 days from race day and I won’t lie to you, training has been hard! Most days I haven’t been able to distinguish which part of my body is hurting the most!

Over the past few weeks since Kate confirmed her place along side me I’ve had a huge boost, having a training partner there encouraging and pushing you further has been fantastic!

Over the next few weeks we will be completing a number of long runs and many more sessions in the gym in a final bid to prepare for the biggest challenge of our lives. We can’t wait to set off for London with our family and friends and compete in the biggest race in the world!

Be All You Can Be!

www.lupusrunner.co.uk

Tags: hibbsy, John Hibbs, Lupus, WMLG, Virgin London Marathon, vlm, hibbs, Virgin London Marathon

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Cannock’s finest indian restaurant has agreed to hold a charity night in aid of our bid to raise funds for Lupus West Midlands. On Monday 22nd March 2010 the Padma Lounge will be host to 70 diners for a buffet indian menu – English food is available upon advanced request.

Diners will be entertained by ‘Spoz ‘ former Poet Laureate of Birmingham as he plays some music and dazzles us with his words of wit.

There will be a raffle held with prizes donated from local businesses as well as information on Lupus and other charity events we have organised. If anyone would like to join us for an evening of networking and entertainment not to mention the fantastic cuisine, you can purchase a ticket priced £15.00 by using the contact me page or at Thornton’s Cannock.

Tickets are now on sale for a raffle that is being held in aid of Lupus West Midlands which will be drawn on the evening.

1st Prize - Relaxed, natural portrait session by one of Staffordshire’s leading photographers - Stuart James

Stuart is really happy to be able to help support the continued hard work we’re doing for Lupus, and aswell as being part of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge later this year, he is now offering a portrait session as a prize for the raffle to be drawn at our curry night on the 22nd March 2010.

Stuart will be yours for an hour, at a location of your choice, providing you with a totally natural portrait session on location – with your favourite image from the session presented to you as a signed 20×16 canvas wrap.

The value of this session and the canvas is over £400!

All proceeds from the tickets will go straight towards helping our work for Lupus, and Stuart has also offered to give 30% of all proceeds from following print sales from the session to Lupus too!

2nd Prize – Family Will worth £200 +VAT courtesy of DBL Talbots

3rd Prize - Dinner for 4 @ The Padma Lounge, Cannock

4th Prize –  x2 passes for Nuffield Health Cannock – 1 visit per month for 1 year

5th Prize – Signed Fernando Torres Autobiography

6th Prize – Selection of Thornton’s chocolates

www.lupusrunner.co.uk

Tags: john hibbs, lupus, lupus fundraising, vlm, wmlg

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The second of the fabulous Wendy Mallas paintings has today gone for a fantastic £800.

The morning started off slowly with no bids.  I’d left Kate with her eyes glued to the inbox ready to update the screen while I was out scouting.  However, it was in last minutes that bidding became most intense as two offers arrived within seconds of one another.  As 15.00hrs arrived the lucky winner captured Torres for the amazing sum of £800 which will go directly to Lupus West Midlands.

The winning bidder will now be able to proudly display Torres alongside his team mate Gerrard  - Woawh – how jealous am I?

Thanks goes to the winning bidder and to Wendy Mallas for her generous donation.

www.lupusrunner.co.uk

Tags: Lupus, torres, liverpool fc, hibbsy, lfc auction

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Another successful day was had in Cannock today where we raffled two love hampers for Valentine’s Day in aid of Lupus West Midlands.  One of the luscious hampers was packed with a range of designer perfumes kindly donated by  ’Kiss and Make up’ of Cannock. The other was a lover’s delight comprising of Thornton’s chocolates and champagne flutes for that cosy night in tomorrow.

Shoppers of Cannock gave generously in a bid to grab the prizes raising £210.50.

The winning tickets have been posted in Thornton’s window – so make sure you get along and check if you were one of the lucky winners.

As well as the usual fund raisers, Moira and Bill, we had three new helpers during this event.  My cousin Michelle and her two very helpful children,  James and Jessica, joined us.  Michelle has been recently been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome which is closely related to Lupus.   Michelle is learning to manage the effects of this harsh disease whilst further spreading the word.

So the fight goes on as people’s awareness has been further raised by today’s campaign.

Thank you to everyone who donated and especially to Cannock Shopping Centre for hosting our stall.

www.hibbsy.com

Tags: hibbsy, john hibbs, lupus, wmlg

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This Saturday, 13th February, between 9am-12pm & 2pm-4pm we will be in Cannock Shopping Centre holding another raffle for Lupus West Midlands.  Come along and join us as we raise awareness of Lupus.  There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs which include a hamper of perfumes kindly donated by a local retailer and a hamper of Thornton’s chocolates accompanied by a bottle of wine and two champagne glasses.

You never know, you could be the lucky winner of a Valentine’s gift for that special someone!

Look forward to seeing on Saturday!

www.hibbsy.com

Tags: Lupus Awareness hibbsy john Hibbs

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Having stepped up the mileage through December and January, the pain in my knee has increased to the point of having to have an enforced 10 day rest from running. I spoke with my rheumatology nursing team earlier in the week they advised me to have another Synvisc injection, which was scheduled for today.

I had a little excess fluid drained from my left knee before the Synvisc One injection was administered. Synvisc is made from a natural substance that lubricates and cushions the joint, it can provide up to six months of knee pain relief with just one injection. This is the third Synvisc injection I have had and I’ve been pleased with how it’s worked so far.  My knee has been a little sore following the injection this morning and I’m planning another rest day tomorrow before returning to the gym on Sunday for my next Core PT session and some bike work.

As you can see from the picture. It’s not much fun!

Over the coming weeks, I plan to up the mileage again and with Kate now in training they should be more fun and a little less painful.

http://hibbsy.com

Tags: Lupus Awareness hibbsy john Hibbs

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