UPDATE 26TH MAY 2006

MARATHON COMPLETED IN 3hrs 48mins.

 A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE MADE A DONATION, AS YOU CAN SEE I HAVE EXCEEDED MY TARGET OF £600.00 WHICH IS GREAT NEWS.

 I WILL BE RUNNING FOR SENSE IN THE 2007 LONDON MARATHON AND I HOPE I CAN COUNT ON ALL YOUR SUPPORT NEXT YEAR ONCE AGAIN.

THANKS - PHIL

 

 Hi there, my name is Philip Dawson and I am a running my very first marathon on 23rd April 2006.

I have never undertaken any exercise and up until 4 years ago I was smoking 20 cigarettes a day. My diet was terrible and I found myself constantly "grazing" on rubbish food and drink all day and then eating takeaways every night.

As a result I have spent the last 5 years nearly 30lbs overweight and I became the proud owner of a lovely pair of man boobs which was complimented by a perfectly formed pot belly.

After many years living the slob's life something had to change but I needed an incentive as I am extremely lazy as my family will tell you so last August I applied through the main ballot for the London Marathon.

I then completely forgot about this silly idea until I received confirmation last December that my application had been successful. It was not until the second week in January that I thought that perhaps I should put the TV remote down, throw away the Pizza and get off my backside and run as I only had 14 weeks to pull off a miracle.

11 weeks later and things are looking a bit scary. I have lost the 30lbs I have held onto for so long and put in approx. 250 miles of training. I dont recognise the fat slob in the photo anymore and I am mourning the loss of my dearly departed man boobs and pot belly.

I AM RUNNING FOR SENSE AND HOPE TO RAISE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE SO PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DONATE WHATEVER YOU CAN. EVERY PENNY RAISED WILL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

The transformation of a slob is coming on pretty well. I ran 52 miles last week and I completed my last long run on Sunday (21.75 miles in 2hrs 45 minutes). I am still on course for a 3 1/2 hr marathon finish time which is pretty good for a first timer.

Update 17th April 2006

Ive cut down on the training over the last few weeks. I have completed four 10 mile runs and I will be running 4-5 miles per day until Friday when I go up to London. Still looking good for a 3 1/2hr finish time!

Update 18th April 2006 - 5 days to go!

Ran just over 10km tonight from work in 55mins - a snails pace.!! Found it extremely difficult to jog home rather than run my usual pace. Will cut down to 5km tomorrow and thursday and thats it

 

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Sense - National Deafblind and Rubella Association 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.

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE THAT HAVE MADE A PLEDGE OR DONATION SO FAR