Our Cumbrian Runners

On Sunday 25th October, I took part in the Cumbrian Run Half Marathon.

This is the fifth year I have completed this and the previous four years have all had brilliant weather. However, not this year! It was freezing cold and very windy!

I ran alongside my sister this year for her first half marathon and although I kept pace with her for the first nine miles, she disappeared into the distance during the tenth mile and beat me! We both decided to run for Cancer Research UK and if anyone would still like to sponsor me then you still can here www.runningsponsorme.org/robertnordon

The run started at Carlisle Castle and carried on through the city centre before heading out through Cumwhinton, Wetheral and Scotby followed by Rickerby Park and Bitts Park then the finish on the Sheepmount running track.

With the last three miles against the wind, it was a massive relief to cross the line in 2h 35m.

Not my best time but I'll be back next year!
Robert Nordon

I also took part in the Cumbrian Run this year and agree, it wasn’t the best weather for running with the wind howling and the rain coming down sideways!! Nevertheless, it didn’t dampen my spirits as I warmed up to complete the 13.1 mile course.

I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been and the nerves kicked in as I crossed the start line. It took me a few miles to settle into a rhythm, but after that, the first 5 miles flew by. I was really enjoying it and even though the weather was awful, there were still people out with their brollies cheering us on.

I found someone to run alongside and I ran with her until we reached Brunton Park and she had a spurt of energy. As I passed the 11 mile mark in Rickerby Park, I hit the wall and seriously thought about stopping as every muscle in my body was screaming for me to give up. Luckily, there was Lucozade at the water station and it gave me a final push to get me to the finish.

As I finally crossed the line, I was surprised that it said 2:19 on the clock, as I expected to do it in around 2:30. I was really pleased with this time, and with the few minutes off at the start meant I did it in 2:17.

After the soreness had worn off, I’m thinking about doing it again and training properly so I can improve on my time.
Leanne Donald

Business Awards 2009

On Thursday 22 October David Allen, Linda Rayson, Stuart Brown and I attended the CN Group Business Awards 2009 which were being held at Rheged. Linda was nominated and reached the final of the Employee of the Year category.

On arrival at Rheged, we were greeted and joined other nominees and local people with a welcome drink of Black or White Russian! We then had an opportunity to meet other local business people and other nominees for the awards along with George Osborn, the Shadow Chancellor.

After the drinks reception we moved through to the auditorium where George Osborn gave a keynote speech about the economy and the conservatives’ plans for the future. Then it was down to business and the awards ceremony.

Linda just missed out on winning the Employee of the Year award, which was presented, to Ross Nicholson of Kingmoor Park. Our client System Group won the award for Business of the Year (medium) which was fantastic for Robin and thoroughly deserved. Other clients who were up for awards included Liz from Hair @ Jibe who was nominated for Business Woman of the Year. This was finally awarded to Denise Hutton-Gosney of Razzamatazz.

The awards ceremony was brilliant and it was great to see so many fantastic local businesses taking part in such an event and getting recognition for their achievements.

After the ceremony, there was a three-course meal and an opportunity to congratulate the winners.

It was a fantastic evening and although we did not come away with any awards, we know we have many outstanding employees including Linda, who are all award winners for us.
Alison Cartner

Carrie goes a STEP further

Having qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2005, a couple of years ago I decided to train further to gain my Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) qualification.

The majority of the work which I do on a day to day basis is advising clients on their tax positions and planning to mitigate this as much as possible.

As STEP provides a recognised professional qualification for those already working within the trusts and estates field, I found that when I was attending the workshops as part of my ongoing training, the majority of students were solicitors.

There are four exams to complete and although the Taxation and Accounts modules covered topics which I was already familiar with, the syllabus for the Administration of Trusts and Estates modules were completely new to me.

Having studied solidly for this for the last two years I passed my final exam in May 2009 and was recently admitted as a member of the Society.

This now enables me to draft Wills for our clients at the same time as reviewing their Inheritance Tax position and also assist clients with probate work, which is an area I am particularly interested in. I am really pleased I took the time to gain this extra qualification, which means I now am able to enhance the advice I can give to clients at David Allen & Co.

Carrie Taylor

My Great North Run

A few weeks ago I took part in the Great North Run along with my Mam.

The weekend didn’t start to well as I woke up with a stinking cold on Friday morning, but I was determined to go on! We decided to go over to Newcastle on the Friday night, which enabled us to get some shopping in, on Saturday morning!

By Saturday afternoon we headed down to the quayside to watch a bit of the sporting action that was going on and found ourselves standing in front of Colin Jackson and Jonathan Edwards as they presented the live BBC programme. We decided to stay here as all the sports people were being interviewed after their event. We managed to get a few photos and autographs (after pushing our way past the kids!) including Christine Ohuruogu, double Olympic gold medallist!

As well as the sporting events there was a sports show and pasta party which you got free entry to. We went in for our free portion of pasta and ate it while Antony Audenshaw (Bob from Emmerdale) and his band sang a few songs.

Sunday was the main event! We headed down to the start line early in the morning, to make sure we didn’t get lost. We were located in section K which was at the back and at 10:45am it was kick off but we only crossed the start line about 30 minutes later! The atmosphere was amazing with everybody there having their own story to tell which was very emotional.

The people all the way around the course were brilliant, some were out with hose pipes to cool us down as it was a very hot day, others with water and we even got offered a chocolate biscuit at about mile 10! Thousands of others were there, it was like the whole of Newcastle and South Shields were there to cheer us on and it was much needed.

I dragged myself across the finish line 2 hours 48 minutes and 48 seconds later! I was extremely pleased as I was aiming to do it in 3 hours. My Mam just beat me doing it in 2 hours 40 minutes but next year I’ll beat her!

It was an amazing day and so far we have raised around £300 for help the hospices so a big thank you to those that have sponsored me. If anyone else would like to sponsor me you can do it on my website: http://www.justgiving.co.uk/Louise-Thomson/

Louise