Hi there.

*** UPDATE Mon 9th April *** I'm going to have to withdraw from the race. My knee problems have continued, despite spending a small fortune on physio and doing a regime of exercises to try and sort it out. I've got ilio-fibial band friction syndrome, a.k.a. 'runner's knee' which is apparently quite common. For the last 2 months, every time I do more than 5 or 6 miles I get loads of pain and swelling in my right knee. I went out this morning for a 'last chance' run but it was exactly the same after just over 6 miles. With less than 2 weeks to go, if I can't even do a quarter of the distance then I've got no chance of running the whole thing without risking long-term damage.

I can defer my entry until next year, so to all of you who've been so kind to donate then I can either refund your money or I can carry it over until next year.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for having a look at my page. If you do donate, then thanks! I've been a supporter of Plan since 1999 when I started sponsoring a child and his local community in an impoverished village in El Salvador. One of the things I like most about Plan is that their admin costs are very low, so that the vast majority of our donations go directly to the people who need them. Have a look at their website for more details .....

I've never run a marathon before. No problem. I started training plenty early and all was going well ..... until the end of Feb when I picked up a knee problem which I'm struggling to shake off. My target of doing a 3hr 45min time might have to be revised. Whatever happens tho', I'm determined to finish.

Cheers

Ian