Wow what a day!!  I had a brilliant day at the London Marathon, and finished in 4 hours 30 minutes, which I was very pleased with.  Thank you for all your sponsorship.  I can't believe how much you have all donated.  Thank you

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Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I initially set this page up to raise money by taking part in the Great South Run 2012 for the third year running. However, within a week of setting this up I found out that I have got a place in the London Marathon 2013.  I entered the ballot back in May never expecting to be successful!  That'll teach me to think a bit more in future!!!

So, I am going to run in memory of my brother Kevin, who died in September 2008, and to raise money for Wessex Heartbeat.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me to do the Great South Run over the last two years - in total I have raised an amazing £1,125.

My fundraising got off to a brilliant start this year thanks to Wendy and Matt who ran a sweepstake at their wedding as to how long the speeches would last.  They then decided to donate this to Wessex Heartbeat in memory of Kevin.

My training is starting with the Solent Half Marathon on 14th October and the Great South Run on 28th October, where I am hoping to beat my previous Great South time of 1 hour 38 minutes.

October - With 6 months to go until the marathon I took part in the Solent Half Marathon where I finished within 5 minutes of my PB!  It was hard work but was such a positive way to start my training.  Two weeks later I ran in the Great South Run and despite the cold damp weather I finished in 1 hour 33 minutes - my fastest 10 mile result.

November - I started spinning this month which I found hard work but good fun.  I also took part in the Gosport Half Marathon and finished in 1 hour 58 minutes - 6 minutes faster that the Solent Half last month.  I was aiming to go faster that the Solent, and hoping I could go under the 2 hour mark, so I was very pleased (and relieved) with my result!

December - the plan for this month was to start running 4 times a week.  I was a bit slow to get going with this!!!  I also took part in the Christmas 10k in Burton on 9th December and was very pleased to finish in 51 minutes 32 seconds - my faster 10k to date!  I got the flu over Christmas which put paid to two weeks of training, but at least I had a good rest ready to start the new year.

January - with 16 weeks to go my marathon training gets serious now (thanks to Chris and her training plan)!!!!  Training has gone well this month, although the snow threatened some long runs.  I did manage almost 12 miles in the snow and icy conditions of the New Forest.

February - I completed my longest training run so far with a 17 mile run.  Surprisingly it actually went ok, although my knees were aching afterwards. Only another 9.2 miles to go!  Sunday 17th February saw me take part in the Bramley 20 mile race. It was hard work but I was very pleased to finish in 3 hours 23 minutes (thanks to Terry who kept me company during the race).

March - I started the month by taking part in the John Austin Half Marathon in Brockenhurst, which was hard work but good fun.  Unfortunately my legs then decided they'd had enough and my training suffered during the middle 2 weeks of March!!  My achilles was extremely tight and at times painful to run on.  A couple of trips to the physio and podiatrist soon got me back on my feet though.  To keep my fitness up I started spinning more frequently. I ended March with an 18 mile run.

April - Thankfully my achilles problem seems to be ok and with 3 weeks to go I managed a 16 mile run which felt surprising good! With just a week to go until marathon day I have already run over 475 miles this year. 

I was able to add to my fundraising total by winning £250 for Wessex Heartbeat at the Marathon Expo.  I played a higher or lower game with runners bib numbers and to my surprise (and slight embarrassment!) I won!!

I would also like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me - there is still plenty of time to do so if you haven't already!!  Also, thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way, to Hardley Runners and in particular Chris, Geoff, Terry & Kerry.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Any donations you can give will be greatly appreciated.

I will be updating this page with my training each month and counting down until the 21st April.

Thank you for your support.

Helen :-)