I did it!!!!

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me, I finished the marathon in 5h 51m which is better than I had dare hope for.

Special thanks to family who came along on the day to cheer me on, anyone who has done it will know how much it means and how much it helps to get you to the finish. And more special thanks to Jim Treherne (another runner for Steps) who gave me some running socks after forgetting mine (d'oh!), they really helped too.

 

I ran in the Eastbourne half-marathon on Sunday 4th March as a practice for the main event, many thanks to my family who came along to support in atrocious weather, you really made a difference :D

 

Updated on Feb 19th 2012 at 2:43 PM from the JustGiving API

Six miles today, the break due to snow has put me back a bit but I'll catch up!

Updated on Jan 29th 2012 at 4:57 PM from the JustGiving API

103 minutes / 8 miles today, achy legs!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My reasons for taking on the Marathon challenge are two-fold. Firstly to raise money for the charity which gave us support for Christopher, our son. Secondly because my sister Liz inspired me after she ran it in 2011 for the charity that helped her son. Running a marathon has been one of those things in the back of my mind for years and when a kick-start like that comes along it was too strong to ignore. (And I'm not getting any younger!) Thanks Liz.

Christopher was diagnosed as suffering from Talipes (pronounced tallipees and commonly known as club-foot) during an early pregnancy scan. It was quite a shock, but when we contacted Steps they put it all into context and we realised what we were up against wasn't that uncommon.

The Ponseti Method, the technique used for correcting Chris's foot was a relatively recent advance for the NHS and involved casting rather than anything intrusive. Over a period of about 6 weeks from when Chris was about 3-4 months, we vistited Canterbury hospital where he had a new cast each week until his foot was straightened, then the final part was a tenotomy. This involved cutting his Achilles tendon and setting his foot for the last time, until it healed in the correct alignment. The team were fantastic and we looked forward to seeing them during the treatment, and even now it's a pleasure to visit for Chris's 6-monthly check-ups. 

With Chris now 19 months old and walking strongly as if nothing happened, it was nevertheless down to Steps and their advice that helped us ensure he had the best treatment.

It's now my turn for some pain, in running the London Marathon and taking the opportunity to give something back to Steps, a little-known charity but one that can change a child's life for the better.

Please donate what you can, every little really does help.

Thanks for reading, hopefully see some of you on the day :D