Friday 20th April Marathon1 of 3 in 3 assembly point Heslam Park Scunthorpe start time 8.30am. Set off in high spirits with fellow runner Alex Bailey at a steady pace for the 26.2 miles ahead. All was going well and regular contact was made with support team of which the youngest member was my 2year old son Austyn. Mile 12 proved to be a significant point in the Marathon  challenge and on day one at this point I felt a stabbing pain over the top of my right knee restricting the leg elevation to run. I hit a low point, but pride would not allow me to stop and pulling out of the challenge was never going to be an option.  We were met along the route at mile 18 by friend Steve Clark who had taken time out to join us on the home stretch, he gave me the mental lift I needed to complete day 1. The finish time 5:15.17 @ 26.43 miles.
The decision was made to bring the start time forward by 1hour for Marathon2 of 3 in 3. This was to factor in a later finishing time and the importance of leaving by train to London of which I had a deadline of 5pm to collect my race pack for the Virgin London Marathon.  Up early with a support team shift change we set off on day 2 at 5.30am.  My knee was strapped and I felt apprehensive as we set off on the course. After mile1 I knew the pain I was enduring would prevent me from running and that I would have to summons every ounce of adrenalin, and disregard all negative thoughts of failing. My knee may have failed me, but the messages I have been sent would see me through 'keep pushing it boys ....great work!' from Ian Lee and 'Well done Mark keep going!! ice cold dip at the end!' from Emma Davies of Finishing Touch. The unknown driver that pulled over to donate to SSAFA on route, thank you. Miles were clocked and again the support of friends was embraced when Carl and Leon Parratt joined us, and news that sponsors were pledging with donations smashing the initial target, was the pain relief I needed.  Although it soon became apparent that I would not finish in time to make the planned train journey to London, so my partner Jo was sent on ahead accompanied by a close family friend on a mission to collect the Virgin London Marathon race pack on my behalf. Running in to Heslam Park with fellow rugby club members and players Jo Hancock, Ian Lee, Mick Coult and Andy Warrillow  Finish time day2 5:57.12 @ 26.41 miles. That same evening I received a txt message confirming that £500 had been raised by the rugby club supporting the charity SSAFA.
The Virgin London Marathon day3 of 3in3. Tiredness and emotions ran high as I made the walk to the assembly point.  I was alone in my thoughts but amongst the masses of fellow competitors each with their own epic journey ready to unfold.  After 30mins of standing shoulder to shoulder at the start, we were unleashed and the excitement of the day carried me steadily running to the 3 mile marker. From then on I would stride it out up to mile12 finding my supporters at Tower Bridge. Fun costumes, tears and laughter not forgetting the iconic landmarks and cheers shouted from the streets would see me through to mile 23. This was a turning point and with 3.2 miles to go I dug deep, Big Ben was in sight and I had the most amazing finish passing Buckingham Palace finally crossing the Line at 6:07.37. Disappointment in the time taken to finish the Marathons was short lived after realising that I had completed my challenge and for such a deserving charity.

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I held a charity night on 16 march which was an amazing success through some very hard work and some very generous friends,family, people of Scunthorpe and surrounding areas. Which gave me the honour of their presence,help and support.

Even people who wasn't available on the night kindly donated.

SPECIAL THANKYOU to many of people, to whom i couldn't of made the night such a memorable one.

Not only did we raise over £1500, it was a great night for all.The main aim was to raise as much money as possible but myself to give abit back by making it an enjoyable night.Your feedback was fantastic  and made such a amazing effort by all, worth every bit of time consuming effort worthwile.

I have  3 weeks of hard training now and have entered into th hull marathon on the 8th april to work on my race day practice.

Remember guys and gels please join me on 20th and 21st April  for my 2 scunthorpe based marathons.bike or run however long you want to.

Updated on Feb 7th 2012 at 10:30 AM from the JustGiving API

If anyone can afford to donate to support my challenge.even if it the amount of a couple of beers that would be amazing.if you saw the Royal Marine programme on channel 5 last night it ended in a bad way and i believe the troops and their families need are help.if you understand my determination to raise as much as possible.please donate when you can.thanks for reading

Updated on Jan 20th 2012 at 12:43 AM from the JustGiving API

Thankyou so much for your generosity.youve got the ball rolling nicely.

I have a place in the VIRGIN LONDON 2012 Marathon running for SSAFA (Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen and Families Association) Forces Help.  The UK's oldest Armed Forces charity. They provide help and assistance to anyone who is currenty serving or has ever served, even if it was only for a single day.

My story so far.......

I applied for a place in the ballot for the Virgin London 2012 Marathon and like thousands of others I received a rejection.  The thought of  wanting to run a Marathon became an obsession, trust me I have family and friends who will confirm my insane state of mind.  The only remaining action was to apply for a charity place and so the search began.  I served as a Royal Marine during the War in IRAQ, and so a Forces charity was an obvious choice.  The application was put forward in October 2011, and as no response was received 'my' Marathon was put on hold. 

Fast forward to January 2012........

I receive a call from a SSAFA charity organiser asking if I would still like a place to run in the Virgin London 2012 Marathon, and oh yes I was reminded of my original pledge to run 2 Marathon Distance runs over two days preceeding the BIG event.  Therefore completing 3 Marathon runs in 3 days, which will be a total of at least 78.6 miles.

This may seem a crazy challenge, but it's for a cause that is close to my heart and will be the driving force behind me completing this feat. 

Please, please support this great cause and donate as much or as little as you like.  I'm going to put myself through 3 days of pain to raise as much money as possible.  I will be running a different mapped route around Scunthorpe and surrounding town/villages on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st April.  I will then travel to London to take part in the Virgin London 2012 Marathon Sunday 22nd April.  If you are available and would like to offer your support or even run part of the route, your encouragement would be very much appreciated. 

You will be able to track my progress via Facebook where routes/times and photo's will be published.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.