Training progress – we are working hard…

Hi friends,

Are training is progressing well.  We are working with Jared, our trainer, twice a week, while our running training with Jake once a week is progressing well too.  On top of this we do two shorter runs per week and one longer run, at the moment 20k (although, this will be getting extended every weekend until the big run).  This is hard work, but really enjoyable and it is helping keep us sane while we are pushing hard on our dissertations.

We are also planning to check out the trail in the coming weeks with our friends Adi and Sheryl.  Aside from being fun, it will also allow us to do some important reconnaissance and see what we will be confronting.

We also think it’s necessary to explain our approach to the run to you all. Now 84km is a long way. We will be running along the rail trail passing through towns and former stations. These points will act as our stops along the way where we will refuel and fill up our water. So it won’t be 84km non-stop, but more of an endurance run. We will post more details about our planned itinerary closer to the date.

If we are sweating, its time for you to be giving!  And we are definitely sweating!  It’s easy, just click on the “donate” icon on the sidebar of this blog and you can watch the fundraising progress via the thermometer also on the sidebar.

Remember if you want to keep posted become a “follower” (we like to think of you as supporters… you’re all too independent to be “followers”).

Time for the fundraising thermometer to start rising!

Keep smiling, M+J

Keep this date free - Sunday, March 14

Sunday March 14… @ about 7pm.  We will be having a fundraising screening of Johnny Depp’s new movie, Alice in Wonderland in 3D.  Function will be held at the Classic Elsternwick.

More information to follow…

Keep making those donations… Thank you to those who have already given generously.

M+J

Team Name and Accepting Donations Now

Hi Everyone

Firstly congratulations to Loretta and Sheryl who have both contributed to our team name. Loretta's suggestion, Mountain Katts drew on a mountain theme with a feline edge, while also cleverly combining our surnames (Kingsley + Platt = Katts).

We also couldn't go past our resident Spanish speaker Sheryl's suggestion of Loco for Lombok! So we decided it would be:

Mountain Katts-Going Loco for Lombok

So Freddo Frogs are due to these two clever women! 

Now down to the serious stuff. As you all know we are fundraising for uniform packs for kids at a school in Lombok, Indonesia. We lived in Lombok in 2007 and 2008, where both of us did research for our PhDs.  Just to give you a bit of background, Lombok is one of the poorest areas in Indonesia. Even though its right next door to Bali (its about 20 mins flight between the two islands), its worlds away in terms of infrastructure, job prospects for the locals and standard of living. But it’s also a beautiful place with a totally different world view

A view from Gergerung to the mountains

While we were there we spent a lot of time in and around a village called Gergerung, where a local women’s group Annisa are working with locals on community projects. It is one of the more disadvantaged areas in West Lombok. To give you an idea, most people get by on around two dollars a day. This makes it difficult for parents to keep kids in school as the cost for their uniforms is too much for many families to manage. So our donations from the run will go towards uniforms packs for families.

A uniform pack includes:
- one hat and a tie (to wear with normal uniform)
- one pair of shoes
- 2 x normal uniform set
- 1 x Friday uniform
- 1 x Scouts uniform
- 3 x pair of socks
- a school bag
- set of pencils, ruler etc.

Maz with some kindergarten kids in Gergerung-this was taken in 2007 most of these kids will be in school this year.

We spent a lot of time in this area and have worked closely with Annisa, the NGO that will be distributing the packs, so we can verify that the money is needed and will be used wisely! Just so you know where your money will be going a pack costs about $60 (Rp 510,000). That price also allows for a little wriggle room in terms of exchange rates and the percentage that paypal charges for use of it’s site. You can find also more out about the village on this website made by our friend who has also done some fund raising for the area http://www.iced.org.au/gegerung-selatan-gegerung-puncak-villages.

TO DONATE: Click on the icon "Donate" in the "Donations" box on the side of this blog.  To follow the fundraising efforts see the thermometer in the "Fundraising" box.

We hope that you will all donate! Maybe a dollar for every drop of sweat!


Salam, M+J

Our first 20k run.

Hi friends,

Yesterday was our first 20km run... the longest run that we had done before then was approximately 13-14km.  So this was a big leap.  And of course, we did it in 30 degrees + temperature.

The running course was our place to Albert Park lake (1.5km) and then four laps of the Albert Park Lake (1 lap = 4.69km).  This is an amazing accomplishment when you consider that a 3km run was considered a 'long run' just one year ago!  Our training is going well... and this first longer run taught us many lessons about how to conceptualise running longer distances and the problems we will face (and also the solutions that are possible).

Anyhow we better run (he he he). M+J

Maz and Jem after completing their run.

Our 84km run - the bare bones

There has been some confusion about the 84km alpine adventure that MP and JK are doing.  So we thought it worth spelling it out in a short post.

We are doing an 84km run from Wangaratta to Bright (see the map above).  It is to support school children in a village in Lombok.  The adventure run is along the rail trail.  It is not an organised event, rather something we are doing on our own initiative.  We are doing it by ourselves and we will not be having a support crew.  However, for those who are concerned about our welfare, because it is a rail trail there are several towns that we will pass through. So we will be in contact with civilisation!

So there it is.  Our challenge…  It is an amazing opportunity for us to work as a team, push our physical boundaries and try something new.  What a way to celebrate our 4th anniversary of married life...

Remember to put your comments under our previous posting about suggestions for team names… We are already finding your input very amusing!  As well you should join our “followers” list so as to keep in the loop.

Fundraising information will be posted next week. We will let you know when the link is live.

Once again thanks for all your support and encouragement.

Ciao, M+J

Team name????

Commmonnnnnn.....

Yesterday was our first training session in earnest towards our enduro-(fun?)run.  For the past two weeks, we have been under the tutelage of Jake who run us through some tough plyometric stuff (explosive power and exercise)... Seriously tough stuff.  MP was using those explosive skills with great satisfaction when jumping up to the chin-up bar at gym - something that had been previously eluding her causing her (and JK) much angst.


We are bringing in the professionals to help us with our training schedule. So yesterday we had a pow-wow with our trainer Jared and another trainer at our gym Jake.  They are excited about this challenge too-which is good as we need to train so that we are in tip-top shape for the run... (Jared will be preparing our overall conditioning and Jake who has done an ultra marathon and is an accredited athletics trainer will guide our running training.)  We are going to have to work damn hard to train for this, which is starting to keep MP awake at night.  Did a 10km run today before having a crack at our first 20km run on the weekend...wish us luck :)


So as things are getting started with our training we are still looking for a team name for our great adventure.  The person to come up with the best name will win a Freddo Frog. If you live outside Australia your prize will be knowing that you are clever enough to craft a cool team name and that maybe you should consider a career in marketing.

We have have some ideas:

Team Gorgo – this is the Queen from “300” (great film)

Team Sparta – another “300” reference-guess what is JK's fave film at the moment?

Team Platt-Kingsley – boring, but solid

Team Athena – named after the Greek Goddess of wisdom, warfare, strategy, handicrafts and reason

Mount Goat Adventure Runners – determined and tough… (a little bit of a favourite at the moment)
Wild Goat Adventurers-what is it about goats that's so appealing-maybe their horns??? Or maybe Wild Adventuring Goats-then we could be a different sort of WAG.

Inspiration for training... Images from 300 

So, what do you good folk think?  Think about what is a good name for us.  Maybe you think it should symbolic or funny… And then we will choose our name within the next week. 

To give us your thoughts on our team name please go to the “comments” section below.  All you are required to do is some thinking and type a few words... As Gob from Arrested Development would say "Commmmon" (if your not familiar with this fantastic comedy... just think Lleyton Hewitt).

More information about fundraising for the school children in Lombok and our training will be posted soon.  Watch this space…

M+J

Gob's extraordinary singing qualities... not!

Join our 84km Adventure

Sorry for the product placement folks-maybe Nike can sponsor us too!

Hi friends,

What should we do for our wedding anniversary? If you're the romantic kind flowers and a candlelight dinner maybe... After four years of matrimony we're after something a little different (that doesn't involve keys and lots of couples ;). Something a little more challenging ... so how about an 84km run? Maybe to some it sounds a little bit crazy but after year of improving our fitness and physiques it is time for a serious challenge. (Pictures of JK's 'hot bod' may follow if your lucky!)

Welcome to the first installment of the Running Adventures of Maz and Jem (we're still thinking up a more imaginative title-suggestions anyone?). Just in case completing our PhDs in 2010 is not enough, we have decided to do something special for our fourth wedding anniversary on April 9 - an 84km run! Crazy... maybe... But being the optimistic kind we're hoping it will be fun (at least for the most part). No one can say that we are not ambitious!

We will be running the rail trail from Wangaratta to Bright (via Myrtleford), which is part of the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail (http://www.murraytomountains.com.au/Pages/Rail_Trail.aspx). We will cover this 84km trail run in two days (April 9-10). It's going to be challenging task but part of our aim is to raise money for school uniforms and books for children we met while living in Lombok during 2007-08.

We aim to raise over $2100 for the kids in a village which we visited regularly while in Lombok. This amount will provide around 30 kids with school uniforms, stationary and books which will really go a long way toward helping them continue their education. So we need your help... Join our journey and watch us sweat (and shed tears and drop the occasional expletive #$%@*& ) for a good cause. Also fundraising for this cause, where we know the money is going where its really needed, will also help to motivate us towards completing the challenge.

Anyhow, more details and photographs will follow about the run, our training (lotsa sweat will be involved) and fundraising activities (such as sponsoring us and a movie night). You don't have to be as active as us to participate. Feel free to contribute thoughts, ideas for fundraising...oh and money. More details of how to contribute will follow, so stay tuned!

Keep checking for new posts. While your waiting for our next blog why don't you join our 'followers' section of the blog?

We are excited for the opportunity to share this adventure with you. All 84 kilometer's worth!

So run Maz, run... While Jem it's time to sweat... And run... And sweat some more!

Salam (cheers), Maria and Jeremy.

PS Maz sweats too! :)