It's all over!

A massive thanks to all of you who have sponsored me and congratulations to those who spotted me fleetingly on the tv. Thanks also to those who cheered me on in person in London, despite the rain!

I had a fantastic trip to London and an awesome Sunday. I finished the marathon in 3 hours 48 minutes and 38 seconds (check out the official website if you don't believe me) so am very very very happy. And sore. Yes, definitely sore. Moving on Sunday evening was a considerable challenge, but the pain is easing gradually and definitely worthwhile for the feeling of achievement.

The streets were lined with thousands of cheering people for almost the whole run which was great. I crossed the startline after about 9 minutes. I overtook a strawberry and a bottle of beer early on which helped me relax. It rained pretty heavily for about half an hour which was pretty unpleasant and gave me very wet feet - something I absolutely hate! My knee started hurting at about 9 miles which was a worry but I pushed on following my target time of 8 min 45 for each mile. Miles 20 - 24 were gruelling but I managed to find some strength left to push on to do the last 2.2 miles in something resembling a sprint finish. Most likely sporting a terrible grimace.

As I had been promising myself for the whole second half of the race, I tucked straight into the chocolate provided in our goody bags at the finish. When I finally made it to the post-race WaterAid reception I had a much need shower and massage and tucked into some food.

Photos will hopefully follow soon - including one with James Cracknell who I met at the marathon registration show!!!!

Thanks again. And I recommend marathon running to you all. Great fun!

Spotter's Guide to Emma in the London Marathon

Just 3 days to go! I've done my final training run and I'm off to London to do a recce of the route (and take in the Lion King at the West End) on Friday. Let's hope all that training pays off!

For any of you planning to watch the marathon on tv or in London, here's a photo of me as I intend to look on Sunday. If you see someone looking fairly similar but considerably redder, sweatier and more exhausted looking then do not be fooled, it is probably still me.

Thanks for all you support!

Race day celebration invitation

If any of you would like to join me after the race for drinks and snacks in celebration the let me know because WaterAid are running a party for all their fundraisers. It's not far from the finish line (near Buckingham Palace!!) so if you are or could be in London on Sun 13th April then I'll book you in! It would be great to see you

Latest news 31/03/08 -

Just 12 days to go - eeeek! The hour change did wonders for my 2 hour run today. I was able to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather throughout my Transpennine Trail trek. It felt much more hard work than usual though, even though I am now running less and eating more carbohydrates to build up energy reserves for the big day. Not long now and it'll all pay off. Hopefully.

Latest news 27/03/08 -

My extensive travelling over the Easter period has put my training on hold a bit, but fortunately I'm into the tapering off period now anyway so don't need to be doing quite as much training. Last Thursday, with the weather so miserable, I opted to do my long run on the treadmill instead of brave the great outdoors and risk a cold (or drowning!) Thanks to the company of Radio 2 and noone else needing to use the machine, I managed 2 hours 30 at a faster pace than usual before getting well and truly bored. Just trying to work out my planned race pace now without trying to put too much pressure on myself or give in to my ridiculously competitive streak! Just over 2 weeks to go!

Latest news 17/03/08 -

Less than 4 weeks to go! My 3 hour 50 run on Friday felt really hard work. Hopefully went about 24 miles though so I'm nearly at full distance at last. Made it hope in time to crash on the sofa in front of Sport Relief. On Saturday morning I felt so worn out that I wanted to lie down all day. Instead, I went off to force my body through a hockey match. The aches and pains in my legs and back were quickly forgotten when all my pain receptors were sent into overdrive by a speeding hockey ball smacking into my mouth. It did give me a chance to lie down in the middle of the pitch for 5 minutes! Thanks to my gumshield, I still have teeth, but they bled and are quite sore so biting is a real no-no at the moment. Still, shouldn't affect running!

Latest news 09/03/08 -

1 month 3 days to go! Received my Marathon magazine yesterday with everything I need to know in the build up to the big day. Reading that got my really excited about the race. Plus my 3 hours 40 run on Friday went really well (beautifully sunny and everything). Got whacked with a hockey ball a few too many times on Saturday but thankfully nothing more than bruises to jeopardise my running. Good-o.

Latest news 01/03/08 -

1 month 11 days remaining and I've reached 3 and a half hours running time, switched to my new running shoes after ankle bruising from the old ones. I am well acquainted with the transpennine trail, A56 and Appleton from many hours spent plodding along them at a pace which sometimes feels slower than your average granny's. And I'm not at all demoralised by discovering that Paula et al run the entire marathon at a pace faster than I can maintain for 10 minutes at maximum effort. Not at all...

Welcome to my fundraising page!

I did the Great North Run last year and had so much fun I thought I'd try the London Marathon! Many hours of training later and I'm well on the way to lining up on Sunday 13th April.

Yes you may think I am crazy. Yes the training can be long, tiring, cold, wet, sweaty and even painful - but if it was too easy it wouldn't be a challenge, would it? And I don't even have an MP3 player so I have only my own imagination to entertain me on my long runs. Great stuff.

So if you would like to make a donation to WaterAid in recognition of my efforts and to give me that extra bit of inspiration over the final few weeks then please do! All amounts welcomed with open arms to help this fantastic cause working to get safe water and sanitation to the people who need it the most.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: WaterAid will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. If you prefer to pledge a donation to me in person or by email that's great too. Just let me know!

1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe water, this is roughly one sixth of the world's population.

1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day.

Just £5 could pay for a bag of cement to build a latrine slab in Ghana. £15 is enough to give one person a lasting supply of safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

All donations add up! Many thanks for your support.

Emma