UPDATE!  I FINISHED THE LONDON MARATHON. I DID IT. BLIMEY, IT WAS TOUGH! (See updates below)

 

Hello! Thanks so much for visiting my fundraising page.

While watching the London Marathon in April 2009, i remembered that as a young lad i promised myself that i would have run a marathon by the age of 30. Then it hit me, i will be 30 the following year. ARGH! My application was rapidly sent off and i recently discovered i was successful in gaining a place in the 2010 London Marathon. M-Day is 25th April 2010.

I was lucky enough to gain a place through the ballot so didn't have to run for a charity. However, having seen the devastation that Alzheimer's disease has on a person and their family i knew i had to use this opportunity to help. There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease so management of the sufferer is essential. The role of the main caregiver is often taken by the spouse or a close relative and this can a huge burden on them. The pressures can be wide-ranging, involving social, psychological, physical, and economic elements of the caregiver's life. The Alzheimer's Society provides local support and information to people affected by Alzheimer's as well as funding research into improving the quality of life of those with dementia.

 

I have two goals to aim for:

1) Complete the marathon in a time under 4 hours 30 minutes.

2) To raise £100 for each full mile i run. This will be a total of £2600 for the Alzheimer's Society.  I will donate the first £100, signifying the first mile of the race.  Do not feel that you must match this donation but if you wish to donate the full £100 please let me know which mile you are claiming as yours!  It will be great to map out the course in this way.

I am writing this at the turn of the new year and am currently over-weight, under prepared and totally papping my pants at the thought of such a challenge. It is totally down to me and my training regime regarding my first goal but please dig deep and help me achieve my second goal. Please donate online now.

 

12th Feb 2010  UPDATE:

Training has been going.......alright so far. Only alright though. The miles i have to run a week are really starting to ramp up and my long run this week should be 13 miles.  That will be approx two hours of running. On a cold Sunday morning. Oh joy.  My fundraising push will begin in earnest after this weekend as everyone should be well over the New Year blues and be more than willing to help such a worthy cause. If you are reading this after donating - THANK YOU SO MUCH!  And if you are reading this and haven't yet donated, what are you waiting for?!  :)

 

1st March 2010 UPDATE:

So training is still only going ok but have done over a half marathon distance and feel pretty good doing it. No need for major recovery like there was after i ran a half marathon race in Norwich. Yesterday (Sunday 28th Feb) was easily the hardest training run so far - only managed 9.5 miles in the worst conditions ever. Driving winds, tipping it down with rain and the road was more like a river. I looked like i had been swimming when i finished and it took a full 20 minutes to get the feeling back into my fingers and toes. The silver lining though was i received £50 sponsorship money while i was out there - nice to see the total creeping up. Really need to get it zooming up though - time for a real drive on the fundraising front!

 

 

11th April 2010 UPDATE:

March and the beginning of April have been TOUGH months on the training front. I have clocked approx 175 miles in training since my last update and i still don't feel like i am fully prepared.  The training is starting to taper off now with the length of the runs becoming less and less. The longest i ran was 19 and half miles but that is still only three quarters of the way!!  I played my last game of rugby yesterday so all i need to concentrate on is my final two weeks of running training. Thankfully i have not picked up any major injuries from the rugby and it will be nice to do my long run on a Sunday without having played a bruising game the day before.  As you can see my fundraising efforts have been going well and i have had many more people promise to donate who have yet to get round to it. I am hopefull of reaching my target but don't believe i will get to £2600 before the race.  The support i have been shown so far is amazing and it is this coupled with the thought of helping out such a worthy cause which will motivate me onwards on the big day.  Thank you if you are reading this and have donated - your money is what makes all the difference.

 

 

23rd April 210 UPDATE:

Final update before the actual race! Have followed my training schedule to the letter over the past two weeks, which makes a nice change. Went down to London yesterday to register and pick up my running number, shoe tag and loads of freebies. The goodie bag actually had a free can of London Pride ale in it! Oh come on people - i have been avoiding alcohol for the past three months and you spring a surprise temptation at the last hurdle. That's just cruel.

Even though i am supposed to be resting over these past few days i am so keyed up that i think i could run out the front door and do the distance right now. But i won't. It's 8.30pm and dark out there!

As a final note i watched the Dispatches documentary on Alzheimer's disease again. (Read Fiona Phillips article on the programme here: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/my-family-and-alzheimers-fiona-phillips-feature)  It had me in tears from the start and has kept it fresh in my mind that all my fundraising, training and efforts are going towards a worthwhile cause. Thank you for reading this, for supporting me and most of all for supporting millions of people in the UK who are directly or indirectly affected by Alzheimer's disease.

 

1st May UPDATE:

Well, i finished it!  I knew it would be tough but blimey, it really was tough. The final six miles were easily the hardest.  I hit the wall hard at mile 20 and walked/jogged/hobbled for about a mile and half until i got going again around mile 22. I was proud that i managed to run the last four miles and the support down the embankment was AMAZING.  I failed to come in under 4hrs 30mins. I finished in 4hrs 48mins. However, as you will see i have beaten my fundraising target!  So a huge thank you to everyone who has donated. Your help, support and encouragment was the main driving force that got me running again after hitting the wall.  You can still donate until July, so if you have been meaning to, please do as the real winners here will be all the people affected by Alzheimer's disease in the UK.

I am still a bit disappointed that i didn't get the time i was aiming for. I was running at a 4hr 20min pace upto until mile 20 and i felt really good upto mile 17. I think i will just have to run it again!

 

(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 Alzheimer's Society 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.)