Update 26/04/2010

I completed the marathon in 3hr19mins58seconds. It was an amazing experience, and a lot harder than I thought it would be. Thank you to all who have sponsored me.

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Thanks for taking the time to visit my page. As you many of you will know,  I lost my Dad in November 2009 to Lung Cancer. In memory of my dad, Paul, who was a hardworking, kind, loving, family man, I will be running the London Marathon. I have been a keen runner for number of years with plans of racing a marathon one day. As such, I'd entered the ballot for a number of years with no success. This year, an acceptance letter for the marathon arrived the day after Dad's cancer had been diagnosed as spreading to the brain - which made it pretty clear that this race was for him.  As such, I have chosen to raise money for two charities:

Cancer Research - scientific advances really are happening, and there is much to be optimistic about for future Cancer treatment, as long as the funding continues. THIS PAGE

Marie Curie nurses - they really are modern day angels, the support they give is amazing - this allowed Dad to spend his last few weeks at home, with his loved ones, with his dignity, and with the odd smile :o)   www.justgiving.com/Nick-Berryman2

Tax rules mean that I can't simply have one fundraising page and split the pot between two charities. So I have this page, the Cancer Research page, and a sister page for Marie Curie, www.justgiving.com/Nick-Berryman2 . I hope to raise £1000 for each charity. My intention would have been to split 50:50, but if there is one charity you would like to support please do so, if you'd like to support both - please do so. In the words of the greatest democrat of our time, Simon Cowell, "let the public decide"

I am going to be racing the marathon rather than just trying to complete it, I have a possibly unrealistic ambition of sub 3hrs, but I will be making life uncomfortable for myself over the next few months to give it my best shot.

...now the standard blurb..

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.