I did it!  I actually completed the 2007 London Marathon.  What a fantastic day. 

 

The evening before and on the day I was very nervous.  I had worked hard on training and the time had arrived to see if I could run 26 miles.

 

Being on the red start with the other charity runners was great.  Everyone was in high spirit and the costumes imaginative.  I was a long way back from the start but the cheer from the crowd indicated that the race had started.  There were crowds of people along the entire route, all in party mood helped by the hot weather.  I was delighted that I managed to see my family and friends who had come to support me among the crowds.

 

There was music all around the route but the tunes that I remember are “Chariots of Fire”,  “What have you done today to make you feel proud?” and “Is this the way to Amarillo?”.

 

I ran consistently the whole way round, my halfway time being exactly half of my finish time of 5:14.  I was hoping for under 5 hours but running in crowds of people all running at different paces and the heat were difficult so I think I did it right on the day.  I don’t remember “hitting the wall” as such but for the last 6 miles I felt like I was hardly moving.  Running along the Mall was fantastic – massive crowds and I knew I was going to make it.

 

Across the finish line to join thousands of other very tired but very happy runners.  I had just run the London Marathon.

 

The London Marathon is all about raising money for charity.  As my sponsors you have been very supportive and generous which has been great.  MLF has told me that they are thrilled with the amount raised and that it will make a huge difference to the lives of many people.  I am absolutely delighted so a BIG THANK YOU to all my sponsors.

 

Thank you Tom and Rowena for giving me the opportunity to run for MLF.

 

What a day!