What an amazing run....

Something incredible happened on Tuesday evening - I had an email at work from a guy called Niall (blogsite fitscottishbloke) who works in Geneva, Switzerland but was over in Bournemouth for a couple of days : did I fancy going out for a run with him and in return, he would sponsor me per mile. That was a proposal I couldn't really refuse!
Weather has turned chilly (last week a place in Scotland posted a record heat temperature for March...now it was lying under 6" snow!) but met outside his hotel at 6.45 to take him on a tour of what Bournemouth has to offer. Shot up through the Upper and Lower Gardens, bursting with new spring growth then uphill to Branksome to then follow Branksome Chine back down to the seafront. Back along to Alum Chine and then followed the route of the Bournemouth Bay 1/2 to Durley Chine and along the overcliff back to his hotel.
The weather was just perfect and the company was great - he was telling me all about the amazing running routes he has around the mountains and lakes near his home, including a more recent experience where he was 'making up' his route as he went, and he was getting further and further away, and climbing higher and higher, from where he wanted and needed to be, by a certain time, in excessive heat! His post-run recovery schedule wasn't too clever either....downing lots of water followed by a can of Red Bull quickly saw a rapid reverse of everything he had consumed! Told him I wouldn't be following his example :o)
Although only an 8 miler, we finished before it got dark and were bang on target of 8 minute miles which had been his goal (he's hoping for a sub 3.30 in London). He then presented me with his donation....a whopping £100....I so nearly fell over! When he'd said he was sponsoring me per mile, I didn't even ask how much per mile (but secretly hoped it wasn't anything less than £1!) so to have such a massive donation was amazing. That's now taken my total to over £1,200 in just 2 weeks....how much can I actually reach by the end of the year?
Thanks again Niall and very good luck in London....my mantra...."challenge your limits and believe in yourself"