Town102’s Wayne Bavin takes to the pavement again!
Ipswich, 17th June 2015. As a radio DJ, breakfast presenter and Community Champion, local fundraising and event participation is always at the forefront of Wayne Bavin’s to-do list. A former contestant in the Ipswich Borough Council’s “Biggest Loser” weight loss campaign and regional Pantomime actor, Wayne’s commitment to charity events is renowned locally and, in a bid to support the forthcoming Larking Gowen Ipswich Half Marathon on 20th September, Wayne dons his running shoes once again to tackle the 13.1 mile race to the finish line around the town centre.
Starting and finishing at Ipswich’s Christchurch Park, the Ipswich Half Marathon has become one of the town’s iconic events and is prolific in the regional sports portfolio. Sponsored by accountancy practice Larking Gowen, Ipswich Borough Council and Ipswich JAFFA Running Club, the event is now in its seventh year of competition, community support and fundraising – with the 2015 charity sponsor position being adopted by Macmillan Cancer Support.
No stranger to the race, Wayne took part in the 2014 Half Marathon and nearly completed – making it to the 9.3-mile mark when a reoccurring knee injury made a fateful appearance and cost him the rest of the race. Middleborough born-and-bred, Wayne’s sporting history includes 6-years of rugby and admits that the grittiest scrum is a fair contender against the Half Marathon! He comments: “The first mile was one of my worst parts; I realized that I hadn’t trained as much as I should have! Constitution Hill was also hard work – I opted to walk up that to try to save some energy”.
After admirably deciding to take on the challenge once again, Wayne reaffirms his commitment to the Town102 charity - the Town102 Kid’s Trust – where sponsors have nominated over £1000 to the cause if Wayne completes the 13miles. His charity inspiration is also kick-started by the encouragement of his family; kids Chloe (12) and Josh (8). “The kids really want Dad to finish this time; the grief I will receive if I don’t complete this time will be enormous and I think they are doubting me already!”
With the assistance of event organiser Ipswich JAFFA, Wayne will receive a training program which gives him a week-by-week set of running and fitness goals to prepare him for the race – no easy task when Wayne’s morning work schedule already involves him getting up at 4am. Hannah Wood from Ipswich Jaffa is offering club support to Wayne on his journey: “Running your first half marathon is an amazing experience and the sense of achievement massive.
Although the distance should not be underestimated, the commitment to training need not be as time consuming as full marathon training and most people could get round based on a 3-day-a-week training plan - such as the JAFFA novice plan on our website. The key is to allow a steady, consistent build-up of miles and there is still plenty of time for a beginner or inexperienced runner to train for and complete the Ipswich Half Marathon this year. We are looking forward to supporting Wayne with his training and have full confidence that, if he sticks with it, he will go the whole distance this year!”
Adopting a different approach for 2015, Wayne has started his training and aims to work up to 5-miles by mid-July: “My change of strategy this year includes a formal training plan and more training runs. I need to get out more frequently and up my mileage over the coming months. It’s hard for me to train in the evening – early morning starts mean an early night for the Bavin household! This makes it tricky to allocate time to train and the summer heat proves hard going in the afternoons.” Despite the hills, heat, intense training schedule and dodgy knee, Wayne is full of enthusiasm and cannot wait to get back onto the course. He recalls the atmosphere as being electric; the crowds were friendly and didn’t stop cheering for Wayne as he covered mile-upon-mile of Ipswich pavement.
Wayne summarises his participation: “My advice? Put in the hours of training. My objective? I have to finish this year!” Supporters and listeners can support Wayne, the event and the charity partner Macmillan by volunteering at the race or donating to the charity’s building of Woolverstone Cancer Centre at Ipswich Hospital project.
More information on the Ipswich Half Marathon
You can follow Wayne, his training progress and race updates on Twitter @wbavin #makewayneawinner
To sponsor Wayne and donate to the Town102 Kids Trust visit: http://www.town102.com/charity/
To donate to the Woolverstone Cancer Centre project visit: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/donate/macmillan-projects/ipswich.html
For more information on the race, to enter online or volunteer visit: www.ipswichhalfmarathon.co.uk
For more information on Ipswich Jaffa Running Club visit: http://www.ipswichjaffa.org.uk/
