Blog: Tinu (Toks) Ogundari

It is a week ago that I was celebrating the achievements of running 10 marathons in 10 days in the most beautiful part of England, the lake district in Cumbria.  It is still quite surreal and it is just about sinking in what I did with 17 amazing and lovely individuals that will forever be my 14 brothers and 3 sisters, they will have to put up with me for the rest of their lives!

My thoughts over the week and trying to get back to ‘normal’ life has not been easy, I will happily turn the clock back again and have the experience of the whole year again, I loved it J it has been a challenge that was bigger than me and I gave it my all, day in day out, it inspired me and got me fired up, I literally had to eat, breath and live the journey form when I got the letter to take part in the challenge!

Completing the challenge would not have been possible without the brathay team of Aly and Marc, the body rehab team that were putting us together every day with expert physio, the kitchen staff, the housekeeping staff etc, I really do miss the ‘brathay bubble’

According to Andrea Brocelli, the amazing Italian singer, he sang: We were born to shine, all of us here because we believe.  This not just for the 18 runners that completed the 10 in 10 last Sunday but all of us has the power to do great things if we dare to live (another Brocelli song), dare to be bold, dare to dream big, the sky is the limit. 

I believed over the years that having a goal in life or a vision much much bigger than yourself will give you the inspiration to do amazing things, day in and day out, I have always loved challenges and I was already thinking what to do next after 10 in 10 even by day 5 of the challenge.

I will honestly say that I will do it again in an heartbeat, it is an experience like nothing I have experienced before and I am sure everyone would have seen the emotions that came out of me in the end of the line, if not catch up again @ www.cumbrialive.tv/brathay10in10 i lost the plot, I was sooooo shattered, never have I felt tiredness, exhaustion, pain like that before! I gave it my all as well as all my fellow runners! Thanks to Mitchelle who got me to the end, in the nick of time before the presentation ceremony.

I know I will do something as big as the 10 in 10 again, I have learned so much as a person with this incredible journey especially in regards to fundraising part of the challenge, I had to think outside of the box and explore how I was going to fundraise £2,500 which is a huge amount and in the end, that figure was almost doubled and generous people were still donating even after the event and latest figure is £4,642 which i am so thrilled about.  Learning to be persistent is another thing I had to learn, so I did not get funds from every area that I explored but I kept going on to reach out and spread the work that brathay trust does for young people.  Last week before the challenge, radio, tv and newsapaper interview had to be done which I was not comfortable with as I am a shy person by nature but I did it as it is really not about me but brathay trust and anything I can do to publicise their work I was going to do.

There were some tough decisions that had to be made well in advance of the event, such as starting times which is 10.30 normally everyday but because i am slow runner and it would take me longer to complete each day, i requested to start a 6 intially but that was not possible because it will be difficult and challengng for the whole team of brathay to accomodate just myself so i settled with 8am start everyday except the first day for the media.  this meant i was allocated a room to myself as i will be up early it will be unfair to disturb my fellow runners and this got quite lonely as the days go by :-( but i guess i had to focus on the price at the end of it all, so i miss some of the brathay bubble, especially the last day when the crowd were there to cheer my fellow runners and were in a huddle hug, i will miss if i was able to run 5 hours at least consistently then i would have been able to be there with all the others in the beginning everyday.

To have played a small part to help raise £120,000 plus as a group is very amazing and that is what I will be mostly proud of.

To everyone that sponsored me to do the 10 in 10, thank you very much and your monies is going to help change young lives, the faith that you have put in me and my completing this event has been a remarkable win-win partnership from the start J

I will like to end this blog on the note that never give up on your dream/goal, no matter how small, medium or large it is, keep believing, focus, be committed, let your goal be the drive of your life, let it inspire you every day! Mine did because of one amazing person that is Sandra Robinson that died in 2005 because of cancer and since then I have not looked back, every run that I do is dedicated to her memory and along with my mum and dad.

I will be back to brathay next year and do the single marathon and cheer the next 10 in 10ers on too, It will be amazing to relive the event again.

If anyone still want to donate to this amazing charity pls visit, www.justgiving.com/toks15

i know it is a late blog but i could not leave it today of all day not to bloa about the finale of 10 in 10!

it was and emotional rollercoaster and everyone has been saying what it is going to be like, what do you want the finale into the end will be like but first, i have to get round the difficult course one more time!

Day started not good, not much sleeping for the past couple of days and of course you suffer as a result anyway!

being the winderemere marathon as well, there is a lot of appreciation of what the 10 in 10 runners have been doing for the past 9 days and this is the lap of honour but as soon as the masses started coming by mile 14, and patting you on the back for a job well done the emotions of the past 10 days started building up and started to get tearing and crying.  thanks to michelle a 10 in 10er 3 times was with me to make sure i dont miss the presentation ceremony with my fellow runners.

but by mile 16 i was sooooo tired my foot had started to become very unbearable i was soooo exhasuted and tired and could not see, how i was walking fast only God knows how i made it back to brathay, i wanted a seat, i was fed up tired and exhausted and could not give two hoots about the final celebration entrance at the end, all i knew is that i just wanted a seat for a while and michelle will not let me, bless her.

So my final end was will i say explosion of emtions, like a pressure cooker that went off, blubbering like a baby, i have never felt exhaustation and tiredness like that in my life, got to the end and cried my whole body out and could not see who was at the end congratulating me.   best laid plans went to pot, i wanted to belly dancing in all the way from the drive but i was just sooo not with it, it did not happen!!

A lot of people saying today i was an inspiration from fellow runners but i think i am a crap, i could not even run 3 days out of the 10 days, so disappointed but i know there is nothing i could have done about it.

Just to say now that today will not be possible with the support of the brathay bubble, it is very special because of Aly and Mac, body rehab and a host of other fantastic people.

it is really a pleasure and a honour to get to know 17 other runners and share this remarkable journey with them, they are my family now and are bests friends for life.  congratualtions to all of them: 18 out and 18 in, that is truly remarkable and i am so happy to be part of that 18 fine athletes :-) that has a heart of GOLD :-)

To Brathay Charity, i am just in awe to what they do for young people, long may it continue and i will always have a part with assisting in however i can.

To people that has sponsored me thank you very much for donating to an amazing charity and all your monies will defintely go improving and changing lives of our young people in society.

Thanks for the support everyone and i although i did it on my own, i will not be able to do it with the support of friends and families

and to everyone that has followed and commented on the blog on recent days of the event, thanks, it really does give me al lift and a boost every morning before i set off and run another marathon.

but guess what??? no marathon tomorrow :-) i guess i can take a few days off running and let my legs heal first.

It is back to normality now with the children and i am not sure when my accomplishment of the 59th person in the world to run 10 marathons in 10 days in 76 or so hours sink in, it is going to take a while, on that note, Goodnite and God bless :-)

I seriously cannot believe that i have got to this point of running 9 marathons in 9 days!!!

It is a shock to me and how i got there is simply by the grace of God, a lot of love and support for the past 9 days and fish and chips and ice cream lol ;-)

But on a serious note, it has been so mental tough and physically painful, i can never actually put in words how painful it is, it is hard to put in the blog the feelings day by day of what i and my fellow runners are going  through unless you have gone through it yourself

but saying all that i can positively say i will be back sometime in the future! yes you heard me, it has been a serious huge life lesson for me and the most important one is: ACCEPTANCE. Accepting that i wanted to run but because i am injured i need to get it round my head that i will not be able to if i am to make the starting line of the marathon each day and that was frustrating because i sooooo wanted to run but i had to come to terms that i cannot!!

so today i hobbled in 8.47 mins and glad i got another one in the bag, the legs was sore but ok, so i did not wish it was amuputated afterall that pain yesterday, it was still vey tough getting round byt bearable.

Thanking every that supported me through the course, my fellow runners, always a treat to see them pass by me every morning as i start 2 and half hours before them and their words of encouragement gets me through the brutul course :-)

Just thank you all, getting me round today with all your lovely words and hugs has been life saving, thanks

9 done and one more to go!!

it is party time tomorrow and everyone is invited :-)

Thanks for following my blog, it has been a rollercoaster of a journey and painful but i will not change it for the world and i recommend that everybody should do the course and run round the lake once and then they will imagine how it must feel to complete 10 day in day out!!!

This morning was not bad to start off with, the lovely rehab team put me back together and made the 8am start with Davey again, we decided to test the legs to see if we can run and it was better and so we did just that walked and ran at intervals :-) this happpned all the way to the halfway point newby bridge and we took it easy from the halfway point because it was too hilly!

lost davey at mile 18 and then i was on my own to complete the run.  from 20 onwards i was in a world of pain, i could not describe it was so dreadful it was worse than childbirth, as i have done that three times!! i was thinking amuputation all the way for the last 2 hours, i wanted to stop but i know if i do, i will not be able to continue, it was that bad, the pain searing into my head, took painkillers and it did not seem to work!

hobbled back with hugs from everyone and iced it, do all the necessary things to get me patched up again.

i just thought maybe i should not have run and just walked but am geeting frustrated not able to run and staying out there from 8 in the morning till 4pm is really pants!!

tomorrow is another day again, another marathon and come what may again i will be on the road again but pls God i dont want the pain of today, tomorrow make it go away!

thanks for all the support online and offline and they are really keeping me together, the whole body has packed up but the mind is still going and that is the most important in the crazy challenge!!!

woke up this morning and had no idea how i was going to get to the start line let alone run a marathon today, had a meltdown and picked myself up and got ready for treatment from the rehab team and on my way!

i had the lovely company of Davey a fellow runner who is also battered and bruised so wh hobbled round the lake together and completed the race in 8.33 hours later, done and dusted and in the bag for day 7!!

sharing to walk the gruelling course with someone is amazing when you are feeling battered and brusied 8hrs felt like nothing and the time soon past quickly and it will be evergreen in mind and special, no one that is in pain should even attempt to do that by themselves!!!

7 days done and i cannot believe it, just beyond believe and comprehension and only God understands this madness that i have decided to put myself through!

the spirit was good today and everyone is just absolute stars and i cannot thank them enough for how special they make us feel everyday :-)

thanks for all your kind words and comments each day, they are getting me thru all those nasty hills and it is still one day at a time till the end :-)

love from Toks xxx

Today went to pieces after a promising start from mile 6, the ankle injury from yesterday flared up and i could not run much on it and how to power walk for 10 miles: during this walking i called Chris to get some support and advice and he said just one step at a time, i will get there and eventually down the line i will be able to run!  but with that pain, there was no way that was going to happen, but kept the faith and believe.

saw Aly who actually reminded me to take some painkillers and i did from about 14 miles and the pain was lessen a little bit and surprise surprise i was able to run for half a mile at a time, and then rest and then do it again!

but towards the last 4 miles, i just walked the whole way back and called my family and friends during that time to take my mind off the pain beacuse it was so much, ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

returned back 8.15 hours almost an hour on yesterday's time, but another one in the bag, i dont care if i have to walk that is what i am going to do to complete this challenge one day at a time!!!!

the leg/ankle feels better again and thanks to the body rehab team, that are soooo amazing, i will be getting some treatment in the morning before i set off which will be the first time in the morning!

thanks all my fellow runners that caught up with me during the race, for hugs and moral support, that means so much.

dont know what tomorrow brings but i will be on that start line tomorrow by the grace of God.

Thanks for reading :-)

omg!

I cannot believe it, that we have all made it to the halfway point, many congrats and well done to all my fellow runners and seriously hats off to all of you, you are all amazing :-)

today was not bad to begin with as i got news from home this morning that my son was on the mend, i was happy and it was going to a good marathon no matter what.

sort of disaster struck from 17 mile onwards and my left ankle was literally screaming for me to stop, but i just ignored it, i could not run much but powered on towards the end with 7.19 finish, 7 minutes than yesterday which is not too bad. so i am keeping some consistency going here which is very good :-)

the body rehab team has worked their magic on the problem ankle and it all strapped up now and legs are ready to do it all over again tomorrow, yikeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss!

just hoping that it is a better day tomorrow and the ankle is not an issue

enjoyed my fish and chips as usual, thanks to Aly

Tomorrow is another day

thanks for the support x

A decent nite's sleep during 10 in 10 is quite crucial because today I was in a better place than yesterday when i had a awful marathon.

so sleeping well today meant that my mental state was in a better place thanks to God, i cannot really explain it but what a difference a day makes!

the marathon took a bit longer than yesterday (7.12) but that does not matter, felt really good all way round, thanks to Aly i had cod and chip just before 20th mile today, really enjoyed it, thanks so much Aly :-)

power back in my feet and going along nicely and i even powered up ice cream mountain (22 miles) omg! panting when i got up there and rewarded myself with, you guess it ice cream :-)

Today was a good day, it was tough but mentally i was feeling good :-)

I have been put nicely back together the lovely gents and ladies of the body rehab team and ready to do it tomorrow again!!

hopefully a good nite's sleep and tomorrow can be the same as today, fingers cross and hope God makes that possible :-)

Pls donating to the brathay cause to help make a difference in disadvantaged young people in the united kingdom @ www.justgiving.com/toks15

The title of the above is from sound of blackness and it was fitting towards the last few miles of what i was feeling today!!!

Today was brutul, that is one word to describe it, i did not have a good nite sleep, everything hurts!

and i thought how am i possibly going to run a marathon today??? whose idea was this?? opps it was mine, so i could not even blame anybody for the madness i got myself in!!!

ok, got ready and got going @ 8.00am as yesterday, every mile was a milestone literally, when i get to newbridge the halfway mile i saw martin and he gave me a huge huge and interview, i had lost my smile i was shattered but just kept going until i got to 20mile, if i can get to 20 it is 80% of the job done and i just had to think of 10k only which i normally do everyday @ 4am so keep thinking fresh legs!!  the chips @ 20 miles from Aly again was heaven, totally put so much fuel into my body and 22 mile ice cream is now becoming a bit or a lot of a ritual now!!

from 22 miles onwards after the ice cream, something really bizarre happened, i had more fuel to carry on as well as i got angry about what had happened to Sandra and the cervical cancer that took her life, so i powered on and used the anger to complete today's marathon in 7.06 which was just slower than yesterday by 3 minutes, so a bit of consistency is good, am happy with that!

i have no idea what tomorrow will bring but my assessment for today is that it was very hard and brutul but it is in the bag and i am prayering that it gets easier tomorrow

pls keep supporting donating to the brathay cause by visiting www.justgiving.com/tok15

Thank you very much

Second day on the road to complete another marathon, better than yesterday to be honest :-)

The team at Brathay are doing a fantastic job looking after all of us Athletes and getting us on the road again, they are all superstars :-) from Aly, Mark, the body rehab team, the nutrition team, every staff at brathay are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo supportive and i could not thank them enough.

smile on my face today as i started early as 8am to be able to complete before it gets too late works better for me :-)

thanks Aly as i thoroughly enjoyed the chips @ 20 mile mark @ bowness, sooo lovely to have something hot.

then 22 mile mark, ice cream heaven or what!!! i loved every lick of that ice cream it was heaven, certainly the reward for me today for all that hardwork of running/walking/crawling a marathon, and i will be looking forward to that each day :-)

thanks everyone for the prayers and well wishes, they are getting me thru and i am thankful to God for getting through another challenging day :-)

pls keep donating for this amazing cause @ www.justgiving.com/tok15