Run Dobie Run :: London to Scotland - August 2009

It’s a sad day today as we have to say goodbye to Dave! We’ve just dropped him off in Loughborough to catch a bus. Thanks for all your help Dave and have a safe journey home.

Andrew struggled to get up this morning after a bad nights sleep. The first 10k is always a challenge but after an hour and 40 minutes, he made it into Waltham On The Wolds.

Today should have been a rest day but Andrew is keen to progress and get ahead of the game…especially as we have a party to go to on Saturday night in Nottingham. Let’s hope this doesn’t hinder his progress later in the run.

We thought that nothing could beat the success we had in Uppingham but then we entered Oakham! Once again, a big thank you to the Coop for allowing us to fundraise outside their store and a massive thank you to all those that donated - a massive £160 collected today bringing the total to over £300 at the end of day 4.

I’m sure that everyone will be pleased to hear that Bedford have cancelled the parking penalty, issued incorrectly while we passed through.   The rest of this news item has been deleted following the receipt of the “apology” letter - oh dear Bedford!

A massive thank you to everyone in Uppingham who kindly donated this morning. We located ourselves outside Somerfield and were welcomed by the manager and everyone who passed. AYou will be pleased to hear that we DIDN’T receive another parking penalty…in fact, the parking warden donated money himself and said that we could stay all day without renewing our ticket - he’s thankfully not been trained by Bedford Council! A massive thank you goes out to Rutland County Council for your support.

Andrew is now off on his 2nd leg today, heading towards Oakham. The weather is mighty fine so lets hope it can stay like this for a bit.

After only 3 days, we have hit the £200 mark for collections on route. A big thank you to all the customers, stores and towns that have supported us so far!

Andrew has just completed his first 10k of the day and we have stopped off in Burton Latimer to pick up some groceries and do a spot of fundraising.

Ok, so today we are feeling a little silly!

Rather than following our hire companies instructions to return the vehicle to Banbury for an inspection RE: gas problem, we decided to call in to a local caravan shop as it was on route. A couple of very helpful gentlemen came out to assist and located the problem instantly. It turns out that there is a saftey cut off switch on the hob lid which kicks in if the lid is not 100% vertical - DOH.

Despite looking a little silly, we are pleased to have resolved the issue without disrupting the run with a trip across country!

Yet another home cooked evening meal has failed!  The gas that stopped working yesterday but conveniently worked again when on the phone to the camper van engineers this morning, has once again packed in!  Dave the wonder cook put together a quick salad instead - nice work Dave!

The good news is that Andrew is now on his 3rd and final run of the day.  Nearly 60kM complete and pitching up somewhere near Rushden.

We’ve just finished our break in the lovely town of Bedford, only to find a parking ticket on the Run Dobie Run van.  It is slightly ironic that the traffic warden has chosen to position the penalty notice directly above the valid parking ticket we had purchased and placed in clear line of sight.  Bedford, you have let us down!

Let’s hope that in light of their error, the council might choose to donate the £50 penalty notice to our charities…more news will be posted when it comes through…

In other news, Andrew and Dave are out running the 2nd leg for today!  Andrew is starting to feel it today but it’s nothing that the big man can’t get through.