Birmingham Future Foundation Team – Half Marathon Review

On a cold, drizzly Sunday morning approximately 12,000 people, many of them residents of the Midlands, hit the streets of Birmingham to run in the EDF World Half Marathon. Amongst these runners were the ten strong team representing Birmingham Future. After weeks of anticipation it was finally here, a chance for us to complete what we had started a few months before through regular training sessions. Full of carbohydrates from the previous night’s mountain of pasta, it was time to set off to the roar of the large and excited crowd that had gathered to support all of the runners.

(From left Paul Fielding, Matt Taylor and Danielle Osadciw-Brown)

The team itself were all very focused individually and this was proven by the fact that, rather boringly, none of us ran round together and we all stayed at our own pace. Being my first run of any kind since my school days, I was really unsure what to expect. The first mile or so was quite simply an amazing experience with competitors struggling for space whilst the crowd cheered us on. The serious athletes around me literally went charging to the front and flew off into the distance and in almost all cases were never to be seen again.

In this first mile two Birmingham Future runners and also one of my colleagues, who was not running for Birmingham Future, all went steaming past me at the rate of knots. Two of these, including Gareth Poole of Turner and Townsend and my colleague, finished in extremely impressive times of just over 1 hour and 40 minutes. The other, who will remain unnamed, struggled home in a time of 2 hrs 13mins and 6 seconds (see below!).

Being from the south of the city and not knowing many of the areas that we were running through, I believe had its advantages. This was because it gives you something new to look at whilst you are going round, thereby making it more interesting and meaning that you are not dreading any part of the circuit. However, if I had known the route beforehand, the near 45 degree hill on Maryvale Road by Bournville Station would have given me nightmares in the weeks before. The good news after that absolute killer, therefore, was that we still had approximately 6 miles left to run! Easy!

The last two miles coming back into the centre of Birmingham were extremely difficult and it was quite disconcerting to see my boss go flying past me with a smile on his face, having challenged me prior to the race. The final two corners though were absolutely fantastic. Firstly, I was able to high-five my wife and son who had come to support me and then into the final straight on Broad Street I put my foot down, inspired by the large crowd who were making a lot of noise. This truly was a testament to Birmingham and the fabulous people who live in the area.

I managed to finish in a time of 1 hour 50 minutes and 26 seconds, which I was very pleased with, especially as my only target was just to finish. The runners in the team all finished as follows;

Gareth Poole (Turner & Townsend)    finished in        1hr 40.24

Paul Fielding (Brewin Dolphin)                                          1.50.26

Emily Morris (Willis)                                                              1.54.39

Matt Taylor (Headline Communications)                      1.59.11

Maxwell Dobbs (BHMG)                                                        1.59.56

Jason Norris (Delloite)                                                          2.02.06

Ann Taylor (Innovit)                                                             2.04.30

Danielle Osadciw-Brown (BHMG)                                     2.10.53

Peter Meckiff (Brewin Dolphin)                                         2.13.06

Claire Bishop (BHMG)                                                           2.32.25

All in all, the team have managed to raise in excess of the £1,500 target and I would like to thank all of them for all of their hard work and, of course, all of the generous people who sponsored us. The money raised by the runners will go directly into the Future Foundation Fund. This will then be used to fund projects approved by Birmingham Future via Birmingham Community Foundation to provide grants which are set up to support the local community in areas of poverty and deprivation in Birmingham and the Black Country.

If you have not sponsored us and would like to do so post the event, the easiest way to make a donation is to visit the Just Giving website on www.justgiving.com/birminghamfuturehalfmarathon. Alternatively, if you see any of the runners I am sure that they will be more than happy to accept a cheque made payable to ‘Birmingham Community Foundation’, if you feel so inclined.

Finally, on a personal note, I would like to thank Danielle Osadciw-Brown of BHMG for all of her help with the organisation, the Birmingham Future Community Development Committee and the Colmore Business District for kindly supplying the team t-shirts.

If any of you feel so inclined, I am sure that I will be once again talked into not only taking part but also running (pardon the pun) a team in 2010 and you are of course more than welcome to join me.

Many thanks for your kind support,

Paul Fielding, Brewin Dolphin and member of the Birmingham Future Community Development Committee.

Setting the Foundation for the Future

This year, Birmingham Future nominated the Birmingham Community Foundation as its chosen Charity, and with Matt Taylor the current Future chair, setting one of his themes as charity I caught up with Derek Inman, Chief Executive of the Foundation at the recent Graduates Welcome Event.

I asked Derek to give Future members a little background on what the Foundation do: “The foundation is a distributive charity, which is predominatley about getting into the grass roots of Birmingham.  Typically we will give amounts of about £5,000 to areas where it can really make a difference.  There are some really deprived areas in Birmingham, and our aim is to engage with the local community and increase the opportunities available to the individuals living in these deprived areas.”

As the nominated charity, Birmingham Future members can clearly play a role in helping to raise funds for the great work that goes on, with the up-coming Birmingham Half Marathon being one example, but Derek also believes that Future members can play another important role:

“I’ve always been a big fan of Birmingham Future, especially for the enthusiasm and youth of the committee structure.  We really appreciate being the nominated charity for future, and see it as a great way to get more individuals involved in the work that we do.  The foundation encourage people to go out to the deprived areas of the city and show them what opportunities are out there.  This could include showing them jobs in the professional services sector that otherwise they would not be aware of, and in giving them role models to aspire to be like.  I think that Birmingham is a fantastic city, but there is still the ring of areas around city which are in great depravation, which it is our peril to ignore”.

Derek is very keen for the youth of Birmingham Future to engage with these deprived areas, give them access to professional services opportunities and to provide a solid and stable career path for them.  The Foundation are a local charity with local issues at their heart, and Birmingham Future are proud to support the work that they do.

If you want to know more about what the Foundation do, then please visit their website, or contact the Birmingham Future office.  If you believe that you or your organisation could help support the work of the Foundation, then Matt Taylor would love to hear your thoughts.

Running For Future Are…

With only one week to go, Birmingham Future’s Half Marathon team are looking at the weather forecasts and praying for ideal running weather.  The long range forecast does not too too good, but at least we will all have an extra hour in bed that morning when the clocks go back.

With only one week to go, the team are determined to increase the amount we raise for the Birmingham Foundation.  The full team are listed below, all of whom will be raising money for the Foundation:

• Matt Taylor – Headline Communications & Birmingham Future Chair
• Bina Ganatra – Lloyds TSB & Birmingham Future Marketing Committee
• Anthony McCourt – Wragge & Co and current BYPY
• Roula Samaha – Radisson SAS Hotel and BYPY Chair
• Jason Norris – Deloitte
• Neil Murphy – Lloyds TSB
• Mayur Murali – Graduate Apprentice 2008
• Geoff Guerin – BHSF & Birmingham Future Membership Team
• Gareth Morgan – Turner Townsend & Birmingham Future Membership Team

The team would like to thank everyone in advance for their very kind donations which will go a long way towards the fantastic cause that is Birmingham Foundation.  

Three weeks from thirteen miles

With thousands of people today competing in the Great North Run, a selection of Birmingham Future Members are looking forward to Birmingham’s first ever half marathon, taking place three weeks today on the 26th October.  Around 10 members of Birmingham Future will be joining forces to run and raise money for the Birmingham Foundation, a local organisation focussed on the regeneration of local communites in the area.

With the 13.1 miles being only three weeks away, training should now be going well but the weather and work pressures have meant that some are still far from being in top shape.  However, come the day, all of those competing aim to complete the course and raise important funds for this very worthwhile charity.

You can donate to the Birmingham Future Team through their dedicated page, where you can also find a little more about the Birmingham Foundation.

If you are a member of Birmingham Future running the half marathon and want to join the team, simply leave a comment and someone will get back to you.