The Clipper Race is all about challenging yourself and pushing your body to its physical limits. With this in mind, last April I signed up to do the Ealing Half Marathon which took place on, 28^th September. Having previously not ever run more then 10K (6 miles), I realised that running 13.1 miles was going to be somewhat more of a challenge! I managed to convince my friend from Church, Ian, that he really wanted to run a half marathon also, so together we embarked on the challenge.

We both agreed that we would use the run as an opportunity to raise money not only for my Clipper Race fund but also to support the Children’s Work at the church Ian and I attend, St John’s, Walham Green, Fulham.

Ian and I were regularly in contact during our running training to encourage each other (or make the other feel guilty for not going for a run!). I tried to  run two or three times a week and followed a training plan which gradually built up my running stamina with runs of 5 miles increasing to 7.5miles and then 11miles.  There were days when the sofa was more appealing than going for a run but I dragged myself out in rain, wind and sunshine so that I could get in the miles I needed each week.  Ever the competitive one, I also said to myself I wanted to achieve it in less then 2 hours 20 minutes. Before we knew it, the race day was on us and so we headed off on a clear morning to Ealing with the challenge from church being to make it round in time to be back before the end of the morning service.

The British weather is a remarkable thing as when signing up we thought the last Sunday in September would bring great conditions for running – overcast and cold. However what greeted us were clear skies and blazing sunshine, which added an extra dimension to the challenge of making it around the course!

I am not going to lie, running a half marathon was hard. I got swept up by the excitement of it all and ran the first 6 miles way too quickly which meant that by this point the temperature had risen to be in the 20s and I was hot (and we aren’t talking beautiful here!).  I had an odd moment where my body went all tingly and I wasn’t sure if I could make my legs keep going. Something within me

however did enable me to carry on. I had a few stern words to myself and remembered the supportive words my Brownies had put on the posters they had made me (see photo below). I also thought about the fact that if I couldn’t run a half marathon, how was I going to cope in the Southern Ocean or at points on the circumnavigation when I thought I couldn’t carry on? With this in my mind I found the energy to continue.

I made it to the end in a time of 2 hours, 13 minutes and 45 seconds, so within the time I challenged myself. As I crossed the line I was relieved I had made it and then suddenly aware that everything hurt and I was very sweaty! I am glad I did it and pushed myself but I am not sure that it will be a regular challenge – I have decided I enjoy running between 5 and 8 miles but not any further!

Ian and I both managed to make it round in time to get back to church for the bubbly we had been promised and some shocked faced that we had both made it to the end and were still standing!

Many thanks to all those who sponsored us and to those who came and cheered us on the day. We are still collecting in the last bits of sponsorship money but the total looks to be £370. This means £185 will be going to my fundraising and £185 to the Children’s Work at St John’s Church. If you didn’t sponsor us and would like to it isn’t too late! In running 13.1 miles I have increased my overall fundraising total by another 148 miles so all the pain was well worth it!

Many thanks to all of you who bought a boat for the ‘Float your boat’ competition – in total I have raised £302.50 which gets me another 242 miles along my journey.

After a slight technical hitch (aka the internet broke in my flat and took 6 weeks to sort..!) I am pleased to be able to share with you the winning entries. I was impressed by the range of photos sent with some of you being very creative in your ‘unusual’ locations and also boats travelling across to globe to Indonesia, America, Switzerland, Portugal and France.

The winners are as follows.

In the ‘furthest from home’ category the winning boat managed to travel a whopping 7589 miles to Kalasey Beach, Menado Bay, North Sulawesi, Indonesia! Well done to 9 year old Julien for winning this category.

There are two winners in the ‘most unusual’ category with a under 18 and adult winner (many thanks to my independent judge, Rosie, for picking these).

The under 18 most unusual category has been won by 7 year old Ethan, who took his boat on an adventure in a Boeing 777 British Airways training flight simulator at Heathrow Airport where he attempted to land on the runway 17R at Denver.

The adult winner goes to Sally who managed to float her boat in the shadows of one of the Clipper Race Yachts when they were at St Katherine’s Dock in London following the 2013/14 race.

Congratulations to all three winners – these photos will be put on a top that I take on the race with me and each winner will be sent a postcard from one of the race ports.

It’s been a while since my last blog post and so I wanted to update you all with what I’ve been up to.

I had the chance to visit one of the Clipper Race yachts like the one I will be sailing the race on when ‘Great Britain’ was moored in London. It was an odd feeling going onboard and thinking that this would be my home for 11 months. I have to admit that it was bigger in parts then I had imagined and also smaller in other parts too! It will take some adjusting, going from living in a small flat to a yacht, but I’m glad that I’ve had a chance to see below deck before I ‘move in’! It was great to be onboard and chat to those who had already done what I’m embarking on. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of sailing the yacht and the feelings of excitement far outweighed my fear and anxiety!

I’m grateful to my friend Sally for joining me on the visit – for her it was much smaller then she had imagined down below might be! Following the visit I have had a couple of dreams about the race such as falling out my bunk and hitting my head in various low parts of the cabin which I am sure are both things that are certain to happen at some point over the 40,000 sea miles I will travel. It’s part of the job and adventure to come back with bruises which will no doubt include a tale or two about how they occurred.

I’ve also been busy selling my little boats as part of my ‘float your boat’ competition. Thanks goes to those of you who have not only bought boats but helped me to sell them too. The competition ends on September 6th so there is still time to take part if you haven’t already! Follow this link to find out more. I’m enjoying seeing the photo entries come in and looking at the exciting places my little boats have been. Look out for the results of the competition next month.

Since the crew briefing in July it has also been lovely to continue conversations with others who are taking part in the Clipper Race – some will be my fellow crew and others those I will be competing against but at present none of that matters as we are able to use the wonders of social media to chat to one another and share concerns and questions. This is really helpful as those not taking part just don’t understand some things or see why is a worry: they just think I’m a little bit mad (ok a lot mad!!). The online conversations have ended in discussions about kit and where to get the bargains to help save money through buying things out of season. Thus on the hottest day of the year so far I did buy a full set of thermals!! Yes they are warm 🙂

My level 1 training is booked for October so I am sure I will be able to test out the thermals then and will get my first taste of living onboard a yacht.

So for now as well as my continued writing of letters for financial support, and continually thinking of new fundraising ideas, I am enjoying my last summer where I can sit in the garden in the sunshine as this time next year a yacht and the wide ocean will be my home!

Now that I have taken part in my first briefing as an official member of the 2015/16 Clipper Race Crew I am certainly even more fired up about the experience then I was before. At the briefing we were asked to talk to each other about why we had started on the Clipper Race journey and I thought I would share with you all what I spoke about.

The Clipper Race will of course be an adventure. I am going to be pushing myself to the limits both physically and mentally – but why? I spend a lot of time in my job, and through volunteering, talking to children and young people and giving them spaces to discover who they are and how to reach their full potential. I want them to realise that anything is possible as at times others tell them they are not good at X or will never be able to do Y. I encourage them to follow their dreams and believe that if you want to do/be something badly enough then you can make it happen. So I have spent seven years of my professional life doing this and realise now is the moment to take my own advice. I believe that taking part in the Clipper Race will not only renew my own energies and determinations and make me reach my full potential but also I hope will inspire a generation to follow their own dreams. I have a small following of children in the form of a Brownie unit. These twenty-four girls aged 7 to 10 inspire and challenge me on a weekly basis. I intend to continue to do the same in return, not only now as their Leader but throughout my eleven months of sailing (and the wonders of modern technology of video messaging).

Following the briefing I went and welcomed back the 2013/14 Clipper Race in their homecoming celebrations. This is the first time I’ve got close to the 70s Clipper Race yachts that will take me round the world. What struck me by everything during the day was the willingness of strangers to come together and support the crews who have just returned from the 40,000 mile race, even if they had no links to the race or crews at all. I went on a supporters boat to greet the parade of sail. On the way down the river everyone onboard kept themselves to themselves. Once the fleet was in sight however the mood of the passengers changed and we became one big supporting team cheering all the crews and collectively shouting out the names of those on the clipper fleet whose family members were on the supporteris boat too. I also got my first taste of what being a clipper race crew may feel like as people were excited to hear I was going to be part of the 2015/16 Race! (Big shout out to those who bought ‘float your boat’ entries from me too!).

Watching each crew take to the podium in St Katharine’s Dock was also great to see. All the crews were happy, smiling and having fun no matter where they had ended up overall in the race. There didn’t appear to be any regrets with what they had done, more the look of achievement by all taking part.

The baton has official been passed on to me and the other members of the 2015/16 Clipper Race crew. I cannot wait for it to start!

I hope we can all follow our dreams, have no regrets, reach our full potential and inspire others.

Although I am yet to set foot on a Clipper Race yacht I have already begun to develop new skills – some of which I never thought I would need to go sailing!

Budgeting
Needing to raise 50K has meant I have taken a long hard look at my spending and am now focusing on budgeting each month. Those of you who have known me for a while will be glad to know that gone are the days of the ‘if the card isn’t refused it’s ok’ philosophy to life.

Blogging
You are reading this, which means I’ve mastered wordpress! Although I have had to update websites in my job, this is the first time I have written a blog all about me. I hope that you are enjoying reading what feels like a conversation with myself as I type!

Window-shopping
I have managed to see shops in a different light. I see everything in miles. No longer is that pair of shoes at £30 an offer not to be missed but it is in fact equivalent to 24 miles of my journey. This also means I have stopped getting alerts to online sales for my favourite shops too!

French braiding
I realise that 11 months as sea is going to be a challenge and will take its toll on many parts of my body. However I have taken it upon myself to help prevent major damage by increasing my fitness levels and also learning how to French braid my own hair! You may think this is an odd skill to achieve but as the ability to wash my hair is going to be limited, plus the wind swept factor, I have found that putting two French braids in my hair helps to control both these things. I now have until the race start next summer to perfect this skill without the need for a mirror.

Seize the opportunity
Every conversation I have with new people could potentially be the one that helps boost my dream. This could be because friends help come up with creative fundraising ideas, that new people I meet might bring with them openings to new avenues or as simple as introducing a swear box in the office to help boost funds!

Turning dreams into reality
Now I’m not sure this is skill development, more extended gratitude and thanks to all. Every day my dream of sailing round the world is coming closer, not only because the days are moving on but through the kind support of family, friends and strangers. I am so excited that I am getting to have this opportunity, and have been touched by the kind words many of those who have donated have sent me.

For some, I am living their dream also as for various reasons they themselves are not able to take on this challenge. To those people that this refers to, I give you an extra special thanks and hope that through this blog I will be able to share this entire journey with you.

I also hope that I am able to inspire others to follow their dreams and to see that what some people might say is the impossible is in fact possible.

Please do consider supporting me if you can – £1.25 equals one mile of my journey and it really is the case of every little helps. If you shop online then by going through my easyfundraising site (www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ruthcharles) you can support me at no extra cost to yourself – since setting this up in March I have raised £36 this way.

Many thanks for your support!

It has been a while since I have written a blog post. I have been busy trying to find the funds I need to turn my dream into reality as well as my day job taking up all of my spare energy. 

Last week I had the pleasure of taking forty young people from my work sailing on the tall ship Stavros S Niarchos. It reminded me how much I love being at sea and what I call my sailing smile. Most of the forty young people aged 14 to 17 hadn’t ever set foot on a boat before let alone been sailing. It was magical to share their first experiences with them and see each one grow in confidence over the week. No matter what stress may have been going on in their own lives ashore, each found that they had a place in the crew and learnt that unless you rely on those around you and work together the ship wasn’t going to go anywhere. I realised that this is why I have my dream of sailing around the world. I am happiest when at sea, where the focus is on working together within a team and unless you find the way of working as one the end goal isn’t going to happen. When at sea, even if it’s wet and cold, I’m tired, hungry and all in all would normally be miserable, all I have to do is look up and see the sails, the vast sky and the sea which stretches out further then the eye can see and that’s when my sailing smile appears. I can’t help it. Something from within bubbles up and I grin and then grin some more. I don’t like adjusting back to life ashore, I want to be sailing, racing, pushing myself to all known physical and mental limits so that I can say I have circumnavigated the globe.

Please help me achieve this dream but supporting me in any way you can. So far I have raised enough money to cover the first 4348 nautical miles of this 40,000 mile journey. This is the first leg and a bit covered, so thank you.

I have been thinking of different ways of fundraising for my Clipper Race adventure and have found a way for you all to be able to support me without having to leave the comfort of your own home!

If you shop online then I would encourage you to go via my easyfundraising website that can be found at  www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ruthcharles

This means that every time you spend money online with one of the money online providers, I get a few pence towards my fundraising total at no extra cost to you. Now I know that I need to raise thousands of pounds but you know what they say ‘look after your pennies and the pounds will look after you!’

Happy shopping and many thanks to you all for the support you are giving me.