It's the Birmingham Half Marathon on Sunday, October 11th - incorporating the IAAF World Championships.
 
Please - if you are thinking of getting fit - or you are fit and are looking for a half marathon - please consider running with us at Team GTF to raise money to fight blood cancer.
 
If you're interested in joining Geoff - please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
www.birminghamhalfmarathon.com
 
This is the biggest athletics event to be held in the UK before the 2012 Olympics - Birmingham will be rocking!
 
Geoff's hoping to turn the city green with a big team of GTF runners, including football and sports stars.   Be part of the GTF Green Army!!
 
TEAM GTF NEEDS YOU!!!

Former England, Crystal Palace and Wolves player, Geoff Thomas, is leading a team of runners in October’s EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon, raising money for leukaemia treatment.

Team GTF will be fundraising for the Geoff Thomas Foundation, which is trying to establish a blood cancer treatment network at six centres of excellence in the UK, including Birmingham’s University Hospital.  

Geoff Thomas (left) with runners Gillian Brooks and Dave Heeley

In 2003, Geoff was given only weeks to live after contracting leukaemia but doctors at the hospital saved his life with a stem-cell transplant.  Since then, Geoff has raised around £1 million for leukaemia research.  His fundraising efforts have included twice riding the Tour de France route and running the London and New York marathons.

The Geoff Thomas Foundation is one of the chosen charities for the Birmingham Half Marathon on October 11th which incorporates the IAAF World Championships. 

Dreaming of the Finish!

Geoff said: “We’re really proud and grateful to be a charity partner of the Birmingham Half Marathon.  Running and fundraising go hand-in-hand and it’s been a big part of what we do at the Foundation.  

“We’ve had some of our best moments when we’ve been out pounding the streets.  New York was an amazing experience last year and with Birmingham also hosting an IAAF world event this year, there’s going to be a real buzz about the city.   Hopefully, it’ll give us all a taste of what it’ll be like in London in 2012.”

Geoff Thomas (second left) with runners in this year’s Birmingham Half Marathon

“We’re hoping to persuade a few of my football and sporting mates to join us and it would be wonderful if we could get a really big team of football fans and club runners to run in Birmingham in the GTF kit to raise some money for us,” said Geoff.

Geoff talks to Tom Ross of BRMB Radio

Anyone wishing to join Team GTF for the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon can contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 07796 681299.   For more information about the GTF: www.geoffthomasfoundation.com  For details of the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon:  www.birminghamhalfmarathon.com.

At the launch of the Birmingham Half Marathon Geoff was interviewed by BRMB Radio, BBC Radio WM, Kerrang! Radio, the Birmingham Mail, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Hereford-Worcester and BBC TV’s Midlands Today.    Thanks for your support.

Geoff and his 19-strong charity fundraising green machine rode triumphantly into 28ºc of sweltering Paris sunshine on Saturday afternoon after completing the 323 mile three-day London-Paris 2009 Cycle Tour.

The Tour is a pro-am cycling event, the only one that gives amateur cyclists the chance to ride alongside top professionals in the sport and experience the atmosphere of first-class racing.  The event features seeded riding groups, rolling road closures and a spectacular finale when the 300 riders arrive together at the Eiffel Tower. 

The Green Machine at the Eiffel Tower

The team expects to raise over £20,000 for the GTF and in spite of the sunshine that greeted the cyclists in Paris, flash floods, thunder and lightening featured on

a tough second day of the Tour.  The GTF is also the main charity partner for the event.

Geoff’s team included his former Crystal Palace team-mate, John Salako; fellow cancer survivor, Clive Sparling; GTF trustees, Dan Ellmore and Ian Parkinson, and top sports writers, Neil Ashton, Matt Lawton, Matt Dickinson and Ian Whittel. 

Geoff with team-mates John Salako and Gio Gonzalez

Arriving in Paris, Geoff said:

‘It was a very proud and emotional moment for me as we rode into Paris together.  We had a fantastic and challenging three days with many of our team members pushing themselves to the limit to raise money for the Foundation.

‘As I saw the Eiffel Tower coming into view, it really focused my mind on why we were doing this.  I am very lucky to have survived leukaemia – many of my fellow sufferers have lost their battle against this awful disease.

‘I would like to congratulate Sven Thiele on staging a fantastic event and say a huge thank you to him for selecting the GTF as the main charity partner for the 2009 Tour.’

It was a particularly poignant and emotional journey for GTF riders, Luton-based policemen Matt Crouch and Chris Thomas, who were riding in memory of their close friend and colleague Steve Mead, who was due to ride the Tour in the GTF team, but sadly lost his battle with leukaemia last month.

‘It was an amazing feeling.  I was totally overwhelmed with emotion when we reached Paris and I shed a lot of tears because we were riding for Steve and the hard work we put in. As soon as I saw the Eiffel Tower, though, all the pain disappeared and it was a matter of getting to the finish line and sharing a special moment with family and friends,’ said Matt.

Steve’s widow, Cat, made the trip to Paris to greet the team.  She said:
‘I found it all very touching and a little bit overwhelming today - the fact so many people care about the plight that Steve suffered and other people are suffering. I'm very proud of all the GTF guys, Matt and Chris especially. I'm very humbled by the love they've shown me and Steve.’
 

Matt Crouch proudly displays his medal.

A massive thank you to the GTF riders – we are proud of you:

John Salako        Ian Whittel                    Chris Thomas
Dan Ellmore       Jonathan Gregory        Paul Bailey
Ian Parkinson     Ian Byrne                       Mark Wickersham
Matt Lawton         Tony Trompetto           Neil Greig
Neil Ashton         Matt Crouch                  Matt Dickinson
Gio Gonzalez      Stephane Oursel         Clive Sparling
Findlay Macpherson

For full details of how the three-day event unfolded for Geoff and his team and comments from each of our riders, check out Geoff’s blog of the Tour on the right-hand side of this page.

Anyone wishing to support Team GTF on the London-Paris Cycle Tour can click on http://www.justgiving.com/GTFL2P
 
More pictures of the Tour coming soon or visit www.londres-paris.com