Many thanks for all your support. I finally finished the  marathon. Slower than expected, but I was pleased to just get round (especially since i nearly dropped out the day before because of illness).

UPDATE: As you may know, I suffered stress fractures in both my legs from running too much! This destroyed my training schedule. But, I am back on track and still taking my place at the 2009 London Maraton. I am however, horribly undertrained, and it will be a real struggle to get around. That means your support is now even more important than ever.

To encourage you to donate my blog updates are going to be replaced with weekly webcasts (to truly shame me and hopefully make you laugh)....check for the latest links to You Tube here.

Week 1 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k7x2RRF_1aI

Week 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVKILobWaeI&feature=channel_page

Week 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s09mvW0-7RU

Week 4 & 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg6mk72TMPo&feature=channel_page

Week 6 & 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMxh_nkzGyA

Weeks 8, 9 and 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwxkHQ_dUjk

Weeks 11 and 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnrSx1Db9f0

A video response from a fan of mine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5LE_Aa8o5o&feature=response_watch

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.
As you may know, I am taking my place on the starting grid for the 2009 London marathon (my place is confirmed). This will be the most gruelling physical challenge in my life (although I have earned my 25m swimming badge, so I'm pretty confident I've got the stamina).

Along with the physical aspect, the hardcore training schedule and the necessary curbing to my social schedule this will be quite the sacrifice from my perspective.

Why am I doing this? (I hear you asking).  Well, its all on behalf of the Anthony Nolan Trust, a charity which is very close to my heart.

The Anthony Nolan Trust provides lifesaving donors for patients in need of a bone marrow transplant. The Trust does not receive any government funding and relies entirely on fundraising. The good work they do was brought to my attention when my friend Lisa suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome which culminated in her having a bone marrow transplant back in 2001. When Lisa was diagnosed she was given just 5 years to live. Thankfully the operation was a success and Lisa has made a full recovery and was further blessed when she married my closest friend Alistair Hudson. Quite simply, without the Anthony Nolan Trust Lisa would not be with us today.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to support the charity which helped Lisa and Al to lead the life they deserve. My fundraising target is set at £3,000 but as an added incentive if we break the £5,000 barrier I promise to take part in the marathon in some ridiculous costume. I hope that the thought of me dressed as a spartan, or giraffe or some other comedy ensemble will inspire you to donate! Alistair Hudson has kindly offered to donate £100 himself if I agree to run the marathon while wearing a particularly uncomfortable costume (details available on request)....I hope for my sake that you help me to reach my target without the need for his donation.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Anthony Nolan Trust gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!

To keep you up to date on how I'm doing (and to keep me focussed I'm going to keep a training blog:

Current target: Marathon time under 4hours (not bad for a fat lad from the midlands!)

21 August....tried to run home from work (about 10 miles)....got overtaken all the way home by girls carrying rucsacs which was semi-embarrasing. Still, I did overtake a number of pedestrians on the Embankment (walking is for losers!). Had enough about a mile or two from home and decided to walk the rest (at least i didnt take the bus).

25 August 7am...while you lot are sleeping off a bank holiday hangover I'm hitting the pavement. A total of 9miles in 1hr20mins. A slow time but today was just about getting around in one piece and apart from the shin splints it wasn't too bad. Windsor half marathon is only a few weeks away so I need to get used to putting some distance in. Still 2stone above my fighting weight! Gotta give up the pies. 

27 August 7pm...5 miles in 45mins....a shorter run tonight as I'm still recovering from monday. Tonight was my last chance to pound the streets ahead of another stagg this weekend. I didnt want to over cook it so kept the distance relatively short. I was going to call it a night after about 40mins....but kylie starting pumping out a banging tune on my ipod (Kylie!! what is he like) so I had to do a quick once round the block. I thought I had run pretty fast tonight, but a dissapointing 9 minutes per mile suggests otherwise. Not sure i could keep this pace for a full 26 miles!!

1 September 10:15am...9.3miles in 1hr28...again, not a great time but this run should be put into context. It came directly on the back of a 3 day stag event in Berlin, so i hardly came into it well prepared. However, the good news is that I got round another 9 miles (ish). Windsor half marathon is now only 20 days away and i now feel confident that i will (at least) get round in one piece. Breaking 2hrs is the target and on the back of this run that looks possible.

8 September.....5.02m in 42mins.....after a heavy weekend (another wedding!!!) its been a little while since my last run. A short run tonight but an improvement in the time is definitly encouraging...I'M GETTING FASTER (despite being 2 pounds heavier on the back of the last couple of weekends). I'm starting to think that cutting down on the social life is gunna be the hardest part of training. Still, carrying the extra weight is good training if i end up having to wear a costume!!

13 September ....10 miles in 1hr 25mins....the longest run so far and 3minutes quicker than it tool me to run 9miles 2 weeks ago!! Definitly getting fitter and faster. This was the last run before next weekend's half marathon and 2hrs definitly looks in reach......in fact I could have cut a few more minutes off my time had it not been for the what happened to me on the run. Today I ran through some failry woody areas near wimbledon common along a quiet and muddy track hidden away. All of a sudden i heard a distant rumble...it grew louder and louder until I saw it coming right at me, less than 100 yards away. The horror, the horror. Ahead of me was a beast. It filled the pathway ahead roaring and rumbling towards me, destroying everything in its path like a plague of locust. A fiercesome sight...some sort of crazed running club! It charged towards me, 50 or so of large sweaty red faced men, all huffing and puffing. It came at me, and with no emotion in its many faces I was forced to dive off the path and take cover behind a tree. There was no reasoning with it, the competitive spirit installed within this monstrosoty meant it ploughed through the forrest. The cute little critters that lived in the woods followed my lead and scrambled for cover. Suddenly i remembered that moments before i had passed an elderly lady walking her dog. I turned around, but i was already too late. She was swallowed whole by a sea of pumping legs and sweaty armpits. Poor thing, nothing could have survived that. After a couple of minutes it had passed on. A few of the slower runners continued to plod past, but I was able to reclaim the path. Today was a real eye opener though....I must remain vigilant in avoiding such dangers in the future. Damn you wimbledon running club! 

21 September - Windsor half marathon....1hr 59mins. The plan was to finish in under 2 hours and that is exactly what I did (yay!). For proof feel free to look me up on the www.runwindsor.com website...or for comedy value check out the pics of me on www.marathon-photos.com (look up the windsor half marathon and enter my runner number 5595)....you can really see the pain on my face (nice!). The half marathon was a real eye-opener and gave me an idea as to how it feels to take part in a competitive distance run. The coolest thing is definitly grabbing the water/lucazade from the water stations, swinging them (or pouring them over my head) and then chucking them to the floor....I feel like such a pro! The not so cool thing is seeing the number of runners needing urgent medical attention, people were collapsing in the heat and the ambulance crews seemed very busy (scary). So a big THANKS to all those who volunteered to man the water stations...a big CHEERS to all those crazy people who decided to turn up to watch and cheer on the runners...a big BOOO! to those runners who thought they would run it in under 2hours and started ahead of me (getting in my way) ....and SORRY to the bloke who I insulted after he cut a corner around the 5mile mark, he turned out to be one of the pacemen just maintaining his position, whoops!!

28 Sept - 9 miles in 1hr 25mins.....a slow run, but the first since last week's half marathon. Unfortunately, a sharp pain in my left knee was a sudden reminder of the torn cartlidge i suffered back in 1999 (you remember....the one that ruined my professional football career!!!).  As a result, i took today very easy and bailed out after just 9 miles...lame.

2 October - 10 miles in 1hr 27mins.....pretty standard, prepping up for another long run possibly in the next couple of weekends.

12 October - 11.4 miles in 1hr 34mins...Did you buy tickers?? To the Gun show (sweet)...getting faster, stronger, leaner, quicker every week now. Felt good today and could have easily kept going for another mile or 2. The plan is do get a 14 mile run in before then end of the month....maybe next week?

14 October - 11miles 1hr 45mins....Levine the Machine....yes i know it wasnt a quick time but.....i was still acheing from Sunday, i was held up by traffic lights and also this run was after a 12 hour day in the office!!! I felt good and strong all the way round...Im a running machine!!

18 October - tried to run 14 miles, but after just 8.5miles my i started to feel my knees and ankles give. Rather than risk injury I'll called it a day....not a great success and I have clearly over done it this week....time to rest!

Disaster!!! I have done no running since 18 October and after a series of x-ray's and bone scans i have been diagnosed with stress fractures in both legs!!!