Not Politics Philosophy and Economics - as taught at the Colonel Gadaffi School of Islamic Studies (LSE). Not the London Stock Exchange (LSE) the other one.
Has my project achieved its aims?
What went well?
What could have been better?
Aims
The primary objective was to complete the Bath Half Marathon within 3 hours. In seeking this outcome the project had 5 elements:-
- Physical - training plan to get fit enough to meet the objective
- Mental - motivation to complete the task
- Risks - avoiding injuries and other potential blockers
- Charity - raising money for a good and popular cause
- Publicity - blog and newspaper pieces.
The primary objective was bettered - by 25% on target time.
The training plan worked well and resulted in:-
- Reduced weight - from verging on obese to within OK for BMI
- Lower blood pressure - from high enough to be of concern to good
- Lower cholesterol - from high to slightly above average and a greater reduction than medication could have achieved
- Reduced standing pulse rate - from average to low
- Reduced heart rate when running - but I still exceed my "theoretical" maximum.
Mental preparation also contributed to the success. An unexpected side effect has been to make me more active and assertive in other pastimes and pursuits. Not all my friends are pleased.
Risks have been avoided or mitigated. I was not prevented from competing by injuries or ill health.
Fundraising was modest only about one-third of the ambitions target. This may be because the charity was considered by some to be a bit specialised with potential benefits limited to the male population. Or it may just be that I did not hustle - or indeed hassle - for contributions.
Publicity could have been better - both to alert potential donors to the charity and to keep up to date with events. A piece was published in the local paper but was among many similar. Links to a Facebook page or regular Tweets could have been effective in widening the audience.
Costs
Risks have been avoided or mitigated. I was not prevented from competing by injuries or ill health.
Fundraising was modest only about one-third of the ambitions target. This may be because the charity was considered by some to be a bit specialised with potential benefits limited to the male population. Or it may just be that I did not hustle - or indeed hassle - for contributions.
Publicity could have been better - both to alert potential donors to the charity and to keep up to date with events. A piece was published in the local paper but was among many similar. Links to a Facebook page or regular Tweets could have been effective in widening the audience.
Costs
It is usual for a project to go over time and over budget. This was impossible - the deadline was the date of the event on 6th March and there was no costing. That is a failure in the plan - costs should have been considered.
As so happened the cost of the running clothing and equipment was about the same as the sponsorship money raised. So on a pure-cost basis not economic. Except that the kit can be used for other events.
As so happened the cost of the running clothing and equipment was about the same as the sponsorship money raised. So on a pure-cost basis not economic. Except that the kit can be used for other events.
And on a cost-benefit basis I have received the health benefits of the exercise.
Next
Next
Time to move on. What next?
No Balls on This Site
"Its not Brown - its Balls" Michael Haseltine
