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Kathy Clark at The Ripon Triathlon
(posted 23rd July 2017)

Kathy's final fundraising figures are in from her triathlon at Ripon on 1st July. She raised £715.21 via her Justgiving page and her employers have match funded £500 on top! So an incredible total of £1215.21!! Thank you so much Kathy. Here's Kathy's own report:

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I did my first Olympic distance Triathlon yesterday. For those not in the know that's 1.5km open water swim; 40km bike ride and 10km run. To say I was nervous is the understatement of the year. This was my 'step outside your comfort zone' event !! I was also raising sponsorship for the Laila Milly foundation which was established by a friend of mine when her daughter died the day before her first birthday. The foundation is there to provide respite care for babies and small children who have life limiting illnesses. So every time I had a dark moment I thought about that and it pulled me through.

I've done a lot of training recently but I went into the race with a few demons: I hate open water swimming and have only once swam 1500m open water; I fell off my bike twice recently and hurt my knee; I couldn't run after Chester HM because of same knee that I hurt again falling off my bike and I also have IBS which makes race nutrition interesting! So no pressure then.

I packed my stuff the evening before the race as the kit list is pretty extensive. Up early in the morning for porridge and lots of liquid then we packed up the car and headed North to Ripon. The race was a sell out because it was also being used as a GB qualifier event, so the standard was very high.

We arrived and registered. The race pack included 2 race numbers (front and back) a number for your back, swim cap and transfers for your arm and leg! You also got your t-shirt at this point. We met up with my tri club as 70 members were racing. It's an amazingly friendly club with a lot of supportive members.

I was in swim wave 8 / 9 which worried me a bit because I'm also slow so there was going to be a good chance I'd finish last. But the race organisers assured me there was no cut off time and not to worry!!

I'd calculated my finish time at 4:05 but was secretly hankering after a sub 4!

So I went to rack my bike and lay out my kit in transition and head back to the group. Everyone was starting to get nervous now, even the seasoned triathletes. I lathered up with factor 50 waterproof sun lotion and partially put my wetsuit on. It was a hot day and you melt in a wetsuit! At that point 2 of my cousins and their families turned up to watch and I was quite emotional!

So we made our way to the start line; the race started at 13:00 and my wave went in at 13:49 - as we were queueing to go in the water the first finishers were coming out in 19 minutes!!

Our turn came and we had to lower ourselves into the water, swim to the start line and wait for the horn. And we were off! Despite how nervous I'd been I relaxed into it quite quickly but it wasn't a pleasant swim. It was very reedy all the way round. Your hands and feet kept getting tangled and it was hard work.

This is where my practice paid off and I ploughed through to finish in 46 mins. You're pulled out of the water because it's hard to walk lol - so I was hoisted out and dashed into transition (T1). I'd allowed myself 10 mins for T1 as I wanted to sit down, have a big drink and some snacks and get my wetsuit and swimming gear off and my bike gear on. I came out of T1 in 4:48

The bike leg: you run with your bike out of transition and can't get on until you cross the mount line or you're disqualified! I took my time, I'm not a Brownlee and 30 seconds would make no difference. My legs were wobbly to start and but after a couple of km they settled down. It was very windy though and as it was a cross wind I realised we'd suffer both out and back. After 3km I came to an evil hill, by the time I got to the top I was shattered, wanted to stop and didn't think I'd finish, but fortunately it was the only big hill so I settled down into a steady pace. A couple of incidents along the route, one guy was knocked off his bike so I rode to get the Marshall and a lady from our club was knocked off by other cyclists and I passed as she was being loaded into an ambulance which was awful (she is okay despite broken ribs and collar bone!) the ride back was even harder as the wind got up and it was a struggle, but it was a case of head down and keep pedalling! I also haven't mastered drinking on the bike so I briefly stopped twice for a quick drink. 

Finally back and into T2 - off the bike at the dismount line, push bike into transition and rack it up. As I came down I could hear my club mates cheering which was a huge boost. 

T2 was quick, I had a slurp of water, took off my helmet etc and ran straight out onto the run. I say ran, I wobbled out with jelly legs!! 10k isn't a short distance, but this was the first time I'd run 10km and been shattered at the start!! I knew it would be a mental battle now so I chanted my mantra, counted in my head, tried to control my breathing and counted down the kms; by now there were few of us out on the course which was a bit disheartening, but I had to remind myself that a) it was a national qualifier so standards were very high b) I'm almost 52, not 17 and c) I'm doing it! There were lots of water stations on a very beautiful route so I stopped at each one. By now I'd decided that my target was blown and I just wanted to finish. It was a walk / run for the whole 10km. At km 8 my stomach started to complain and then I started getting spots before my eyes so I walked a bit and it settled. There was no way I wasn't going to finish! At 9km one of our club members ran out to me, gave me a massive hug and ran in with me. It was a life saver! And then I could see the finish chute! Lined with Wakefield Triathlon club members who were just screaming at me. I couldn't help but start laughing and I had some great finish line photos!! 

After the race I was too tired to collect my race timings so Peter went. When he brought it back I had a little scream.

So I did it! Can't quite believe it. Hardest thing I've ever done. But I did it and I'm so pleased!

Summer Opening Times
(posted 21st July 2017)

Please take note of our new opening hours over the summer holiday period with effect from week commencing 24th July.

*** Summer opening hours: ***

Wednesday: 10-3
Thursday: 10-3
Friday: 10-3

If you have a child aged 0-5 with complex medical or additional learning needs, or a life limiting/threatened condition please do pop in to our free sessions. We are a super friendly bunch who want to support you and your little one x

If you've not been before, you will find us at 75a Kirkby Road, Hemsworth WF9 4AS (directly behind McCormack opticians).

For any more details please phone on 07846 986405.

Maya xxxx

**** Top Fundraisers Alert!! ****
(posted 5th July 2017)

As we are exactly at the halfway point through the year, we wanted to look back at some of our top fundraisers to honour the fantastic work they've done in the past 6 months.

So our top fundraisers of the year go to Marc Hoyland and Sara Henein. This gorgeous couple organised an acoustic night at Quirky Ales a few months ago raising a whopping £718! Well Marc decided he wanted to do something else for us and grabbed two mates, Andy Millett and Andy Haney and took on the epic challenge that is Tough Mudder! Raising a further £295 between them taking their fundraising total to an incredible £1013!!! Wowzers!!! 
P.S. Marc and Sara are getting married soon so we'd like to wish them all the best on their special day and for their future together xxx

5 Towns Radio Interview
(posted 24th May 2017)

I had a lovely morning chatting with The Running Man, Mr B at 5 Towns Radio in Castleford last week all about The Laila Milly Foundation.

You can hear our interview on The Running Man on 5 Towns Radio at 3pm on Friday 26th May.

Go to www.5townsradio.com and click "Listen Live"

Maya

Trustees
(posted 19th April 2017)

We are delighted to welcome Kirsty Shepherd to our Trustee Board.

Kirsty has been a nurse for 13 years, training as an adult nurse but also spending time working on NICU. She has also completed paediatric courses in A+E specialising in critical and emergency medicine as well as undergoing bereavement training. 

It will be great to have someone bringing such a wealth of medical knowledge to our board.

Maya

Paris Marathon Fundraising
(posted 19th April 2017)

On the 9th April Nicolas Daudet ran the Paris Marathon for the Laila Milly Foundation. This was his first marathon. He completed it in 4:45:30 in scorching conditions.  

Nicolas has raised a fantastic £232 for us! Thank you ever so much Nick for your brilliant fundraising and on completing your first marathon, what a great achievement.

Maya

London Marathon Fundraising
(posted 19th April 2017)

Kevin Guttridge will be running for us this Sunday 23rd April in the Virgin Money London Marathon! He has already raised £123.  If anyone would like to sponsor Kevin, they can do so by going to:

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Kevin-Guttridge 

We wish Kevin all the best for Sunday. 'Go Kevin Go!!'

Maya

Kevin is pictured with Maya and 2 year old Cody who attends the Centre.

2017 New Sessions
(posted 24th March 2017) 

We're starting some great new sessions at the Centre. Click the image on the right for full details.

Wear Something Blue for Laila Milly Day
(posted 24th March 2017)

Thanks to your fantastic efforts on 3rd March, we raised a magnificent £459.50 including Gift Aid. Thank you all so much.

Maya xx

WYAMS
(posted 22nd February 2017)

Last year WYAMs (West Yorkshire Advanced Motorcyclists) very kindly chose to support us for a second year as their charity of the year. Throughout 2016 they held various fundraising events and had generous donations from organisations they work with. 

I was invited to their AGM a couple of weeks ago to receive the cheque, they hadn't told me before the meeting how much they had raised so I was absolutely blown away by the jaw dropping cheque they presented to me of £3369.19!!!! The members themselves were shocked by how well they had done. I believe this is the most they've ever raised for a charity in a year.

We are so so grateful for their support and generosity. We've already decided that a chunk of the money will be going towards putting on more music sessions. We currently hold them fortnightly but thanks to this donation we will be able to have them weekly, which will be fantastic as the children benefit greatly and really enjoy the sessions with Helen from Mini Maestros.

We are hoping to later in the year set up a Sibling Saturday Club, which would meet initially once a month but may increase as the demand dictates. At the Laila Milly Foundation, we are about supporting the family as a whole, as we know the whole family is affected when their is a child with additional medical, physical or learning needs.

We want to offer a place for siblings, not only those who attend our centre but to others in the area too, where they can come and play/socialise with other children who know what it's like to have a poorly brother or sister. An outlet for them to talk about their feelings or to just have some fun! 

So thanks to WYAMs the remaining money will go towards helping set this up.

Thank you once again for your incredible support WYAMs xx

Maya and all at the Laila Milly Foundation x