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On Sunday the 22nd of April 2018, I will be attempting to run my first ever (and most likely only ever!) marathon.  I've been really lucky to be granted a charity place in the marathon, and now, as well as the hard work of training, I need to raise a minimum of £2,000 for the Royal British Legion.

The Legion was founded by veterans after the First World War.  A century on from the start of that conflict, they are still helping today's Service men and women, veterans, and their families in almost every aspect of daily life.  They also champion Remembrance, safeguarding
the memory of those who have given their lives for our freedom through
Remembrance education and events.

My grandfathers didn't fight in the second world war, as both were in reserved occupations, and none of my immediate family have served
in the forces, so I don't have any particular link to the Legion, but I've
always supported  the annual Poppy Appeal and feel a huge debt towards those who put themselves in danger to keep us all safe.  It's not a job I would want to do and I'm thankful that others have chosen to take on these vital roles on behalf of us all.

Please do consider supporting me, and the Royal British Legion.  Every single pound will make a difference and knowing that people have supported me will help me through the long, hard training runs and the event itself.

Willis Towers Watson employees, the company will very generously match any donations that you make, if you are happy for me to request this.  I will be sending round full details of this, with a paper sponsorship form, so you can sponsor me either on here or via the form.  I will assume that you are happy for me to claim the matching on your
behalf but please do let me know if you don't want me to do this.

Thank you

I'm not a natural runner.  At school, I used to slog around the running track in the 1,500 metres on sports day to get a few house points, since no-one else wanted to run a full mile, but I was happy just to finish and certainly wasn't bothering the medal places. 

Around 20 years ago, I decided to have a go at running a half marathon, and signed up for the Great North Run.  I followed a basic training plan, which started with something like "run one minute, walk one minute, repeat ten times, go home and have a good sit down for an hour to recover".  I really struggled to even run for a minute at first, but slowly and surely, I built up my time until I could run for a couple of hours (albeit VERY slowly). 

Race day came around and I set off, hoping to come in around 2 hours 10 minutes, based on my training speed.  Around the course they were giving out fizzy water to the runners.  I hadn't actually drunk much water while I was training but I'd read that it was good to be well hydrated, so I helped myself to plenty of water.  By the ten mile mark, I could feel the water sloshing around in my stomach, making me feel pretty sick, so I had to walk most of the last three miles, and I ended up crossing the finish line in about 2 hours 45.  I didn't really enjoy the experience, other than the start and the end, so decided that running wasn't really for me. 

Fast forward about ten years and, clearly having forgotten how hard it was first time around, I signed up to have another go at the Great North Run.  Again, I followed my training plan, and was confident I would make it round (again, very slowly) but a couple of weeks before the event I got a stress fracture in my left leg.  I was absolutely heartbroken to not be able to compete but the doctor told me I wasn't even to walk around a supermarket, never mind run 13+ miles.  Luckily, I was able to defer my place and managed to get through the training the following year with no major injuries.  

On race day, I set off all excited, but once I'd crossed over the Tyne Bridge, there was a steep hill to climb, so I thought I'd ease off and walk up the hill then start running again at the top.  Big mistake.  My knees seized up and every time I tried to run they really hurt. I managed to drag myself round the course, finishing just a few minutes faster than the first time, but it was incredibly hard work.  Once I crossed the line, I headed off to meet my family, at the meeting point, down a rather steep hill.  The only problem was that I couldn't bend my legs at all!  I inched my way down the hill and decided that running REALLY wasn't for me. 

I'd always watched the London Marathon on TV and thought that it would be an amazing thing to be part of.  I'd think "if all those 70 year olds can do it, and people can do it wearing a giant Rhino costume, or carrying a fridge, then surely I could do it one day!".  However, after my two attempts at a half marathon, I reluctantly accepted that my knees wouldn't take the training required for a full marathon.

When I moved into my second flat in London in 2004, I was incredibly excited to realise that the marathon route went directly under my
living room window.  Each year I would go out onto the street and cheer on the runners.  I was so impressed with the challenge that they were taking on but knew that I could never be part of it.

Fast forward a few more years and  I signed up to do a Race For
Life , with some friends and got some advice about my sore knees.  I found out that it was actually my ITB - a tendon which runs up your thigh, and if it's too tight, it pulls your knee to the side and creates pain.  This can be easily (!) fixed by stretching your ITB using a foam roller.  Using a foam roller is one of the worst pains I have ever experienced in my life!  They are pure evil!  But it was true that, when I stretched out my legs, I didn't get any more knee pain.  I completed the 5k race on a boiling hot day and again decided to have a break from running.  It really wasn't for me...

Fast forward one more time to 2017.  Now living in Reigate, I found that the route of the Reigate half marathon went right past my door.  I'd watched the race for a couple of years but never felt inclined to have a go...until now.  I'd been doing a course at the gym, so had a decent starting level of fitness.  I was amazed how much further I could run to start with - I managed to jog (slowly! - are you sensing a theme here?!) for half an hour on my first training run, and got up to 11 miles before race day.  

My main goal for the race was to run the whole distance.  On both of my attempts at the GNR, I'd had to walk, so  running for the full 13 miles would be an achievement in itself.  I also quietly wanted to come in under 2 hours 30, but I was mostly focused on completing the distance.  

During the race, I jogged along the lovely Surrey lanes, enjoying the scenery and the support and managed to successfully compete the course without walking, even on the MASSIVE hill in mile 13 - I may not have been moving very fast, but I WAS still jogging, and when I crossed the line, not only was I amazed to see that I'd finished in just under 2 hours and 20 minutes, smashing my previous PB, but I was also surprised to feel that I'd really enjoyed myself - and I actually felt that I could run further.....

I was absolutely delighted when I was offered one of the Royal British Legion's coveted charity places in the 2018 London marathon.  I worked out a 20 week training plan, based on a few plans I saw online and started training in mid-December.  Week 1 went great!  Week 2 didn't happen - at all.  It was my last week at work before Christmas and work was very busy, so there was no time at all for running.  As soon as I finished work for Christmas, I came down with a nasty cold, so wasn't able to run for the first few days of the holidays.  However, I was determined to stick to the plan and on the 22nd of December, when I should have been nearly finished with week 3, I set out to do the first run of week 2.  Over the rest of the holidays, I ran every other day, including on Boxing Day and New Year's Day.  

Back in Reigate in the new year, I joined the new local gym and by the end of week 5 of the plan, I had completed all of the runs for the first four weeks of the plan.  

I've found that, without even realising that I'm doing it, I count my steps while I'm running (well I actually count one for every four steps, as counting every single step would be too hard!).  I've recently worked out that by the time I've counted to 500, that's about one mile.  Today I counted to 500 nine times, to complete the week 4 long run.  I've therefore worked out that, on race day, if I count to 500 26 times, I'll have counted to 13,000.  Given that each count is 4 steps, I'll need to take around 52,000 steps to complete the 26 mile course.  Easy eh?!

So far, the training is going OK.  Again, I'm not going fast - I'll probably
need to plod along for about 5 hours to do my 52,000 steps, but my aim is to enjoy what I'm sure will be an amazing experience and to finish with a smile on my face.  I am incredibly grateful for any donation that you are able to make - it will not only help me on the day itself but also during the training runs, when I don't have crowds cheering me on and the prospect of a medal when I'm finished!

Thank you for taking the time to read my running story.  I will try to post some (briefer!) updates over the coming 15 weeks.