I`m doing a marathon as the first champion of the Aston Villa Foundation Supporting Our Own and would love your help.
Just the price of a pint, two seconds to donate, it`s our club lets help build the foundation! Donate: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/thefear
I did an interview in the week that hasn’t been able to be slotted in the intended destination, so here it is:
What made you decide to do a marathon?
I`ve, I think by accident, become known for two things. Firstly getting smashed down (13 operations and a history of ill health) and then getting back up and smashing back at life. I`ve managed Ben Nevis and Snowdon, both would have been simply not possibly even a few years ago. I`ve also pushed and ended up in Men`s Health, a heroes edition no less. Then last year I had another operation and a few health set backs, when I experience the lows I plan the highs. The next high is this marathon. You have to experience the lows to reach the true highs. Villa are re-building from a low and pushing upward. That`s what I try to do in life. It`s not how many times you are knocked down, it`s how many times you get back up! In April I was unexpectedly rushed to A&E having had a brain ache flair up. All I`d wanted to do was go and watch Anthony Joshua beat Wladimir Klitschko but it went a bit wrong that night! My one friend with me in A&E said ‘at least this means we won`t have to do the marathon now`. ‘We`ll see` was my thinking. Now here I am, doing my first ever marathon.
Just a pound from everyone and we’d be over £14k for @AVFCFoundation Supporting Our Own.https://t.co/10ZCxCUxWm #fearconquersall #AVFC pic.twitter.com/GpOlbpEEIZ
Vital Villa (@VitalVilla) October 11, 2017
How has the training gone?
Well, I`ve looked the part. I am not boasting, I don`t mean my form is good, just that Under Armour were very generous in sending me some great looking kit to wear! It`s gone ok though. I went out the one day and smashed 14 miles. The furthest I`ve walked since my brain chop in 94. I didn`t tell anyone as this was still me testing where I was at health wise. I did a second 14 miler and started to doubt I could push on above that. My legs are not the most comfortable due to the damage from the brain aches. Two half marathons you would think would be enough but no, I wasn`t satisfied. Luckily the next outing saw me smash 20 miles up and down some pretty steep hills. I decided to go big or go home because I knew it was a make or break walk, if I could do 20 miles on a tough course, all being well I can do the 26.2 on a flatter course. That`s the theory, now we`ll see in practice. I will be taking my sunglasses with me, just in case I burst into tears when I… I repeat WHEN I complete the course.
Edging towards £1000 for the @AVFCFoundation Hoping to get double that before Sunday. Got my bag ready! https://t.co/10ZCxCUxWm #UTV #AVFC pic.twitter.com/olNFZX7fIP
Vital Villa (@VitalVilla) October 12, 2017
And the fundraising for the AV Foundation?
Well, I have to smile really. I had decided this time to be low key, have no pressure, not tell anyone what I was doing and just facebook to friends and followers at the end of the race ‘look what I`ve done`. Unfortunately, or is that fortunately (?) I don`t seem to be able to do low key, albeit I got very close this time. Just over a week before the event and I cracked! I met with Guy who is Head of Foundation and Community Partnerships at a Football Consultation Group meeting earlier this year and was impressed at what Villa were looking to do. It is worthy, it is crucial and it`s what I think football clubs should be doing. Giving back to society and more importantly, the local area. He mentioned at the time that they were working on an initiative so that fans could start fundraising for the foundation and it planted a seed.
I tried and tried to resist but last week cracked and contacted him as I knew the ‘Supporting Our Own` was set to launch. I then decided, why not, it`s for ‘my` club and it is a long way to go (26.2 miles… don`t forget the .2!) not to try to raise some funds. I was slightly reticent because I`ve raised over £10 000 over the years (Acorns and Cystic Fibrosis) and so feel uncomfortable asking people for yet more money. However, this is for OUR club and is for a great cause, so last time, honest, I`m asking fans and I so hope some businesses to put their hands in their pockets and sponsor me to do this Birmingham Marathon. It`s also a good illustration to fellow Villa fans that they can also do initiatives fundraising for the Villa Foundation.
The event will be the inaugural Birmingham Marathon, starting at the Alexander stadium, the home of British Athletics. And this will be the inaugural fundraising event for the Foundation. It just seems to just go hand in hand. Now all I have to do is actually get around the course! It won`t be pretty, I`ll not be posting a quick time, all I want to do is complete it and I think my only real hope is I can finish ahead of the pace car. People who have seen me at Villa games will know at times my walking has been incredibly wonky to say the least, it wasn`t that many years ago that I had to use a walking stick just to get to my seat and several times fell up the stairs when leaving my seat. So the challenge really is on. I am thinking it could well take seven hours to complete. I`ve got an iPod playlist of loud music to drive me through it including our own, Black Sabbath!
One of my tattoos (and the title of the book I`m just completing!) says Get Up. Get out. Live. I`m a big believer in getting out and challenging yourself, I`m looking at the Villa`s relegation as exactly the same. They reached a low, now the new players and board are trying to reach the highs with the help of the ever faithful fans.
We stand together, supporting our own.
You get the message… donate!
If you haven’t done so already, please get over to https://t.co/aFTI8IlSqy and sponsor Jonathan Fear who is running the Birmingham Marathon for our Supporting Our Own initiative #PartOfThePride pic.twitter.com/U8fOgTFH8W
AVFC Foundation (@AVFCFoundation) October 11, 2017
Any final thoughts?
Yes, October will be a defining month for me doing this challenge and I think a defining month for our team as well. They are on a great run, if they can claim the scalps of our two local rivals and push on v Fulham and Preston, I think we`ll end up winning the league. I`m a big believer that ‘it comes from within` and I think the team are finally realising just what a great set of players they are, more importantly they are now playing as a team and I believe a team that will walk this league. They just need to believe and I think that`s just what is happening now, they have the belief.
As for everyone else, Get up. Get out. Live…!
🏃👍 Good luck to Jon Fear who is running this weekend`s #BirminghamMarathon for @AVFCFoundation
Sponsor him 👉 https://t.co/pgwpFS9xVX pic.twitter.com/ayI0KRaiIY
Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) October 12, 2017
