Running for my life; raising money for the Blood Pressure Association

July 6 2010 , Written by thediversetraveller Published on #10K, #Asics, #Healthly living, #High blood pressure, #hypertension, #jogging, #Ola Fagbohun, #Running, #Travel Beyond the UK

You'd think I'd come up with a much easier way to explore historic London, than a 10K run. But easy is not on my birth certificate, so once again I am experiencing London via a 10K London run, my third this year.

Why?

Because I can. But also because jogging helps keep me alive, you could say I am running for my life. OK, that may be an exaggeration.

Long story short

Despite being fit, slender and reading food labels (low salt, low saturated fat and low sugar) like I'm preparing for an exam I have Hypertension.

I have suffered infrequent high blood pressure since 1999 (in my 30s), something that baffled my doctor as I was no where near a high-risk category. After much prodding, poking and stroking of chins, they prescribed lots of time off work, even more exercise, eliminate all salt, and more.

For years I followed their advice to the letter, learning how to cook tasty meals with no or little salt, took up jooging (resulted in a marathon in 2005), all to no avail. Clueless, I was prescribed drugs, but I cried and begged, promising to try harder, and got my reprise.

However, in 2007, I was told in no uncertain terms I had hypertension, and I had two options a long life with drugs or a short one i.e stroke. Since then I have been on a roller coaster of drug regimes.

What can you do?

Plenty!

The first is don't think you are immune, or that if you handle your stress you will be fine. Hypertension is called the 'silent killer' something my family know all to well. I implore you, get your blood pressure checked as soon as possible, it is free and takes a few minutes at the GP or pharmacy.

Donate!

I'm not one to wallow in self-pity, after all it's not a death sentence. Instead I challenge myself. My current challenge is to run in the ASICS 10K London this Sunday (July 11th, 2010). I am running to raise raise funds for the wonderful people at the Blood Pressure Association, who have helped me, and countless others, understand and manage our hypertension. Please donate whatever you can.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

or donate at Just Giving: http://www.justgiving.com/Ola-Fagbohun

If you are also jogging, running or walking the Asics British 10K this Sunday, get in touch. I could do with a pace maker or someone to drag me along.

Image source: www.ucop.edu/sciencetoday/category/12

Advertising

Share this post