On April 17th nearly 25 000 runners and countless charities will attempt the Virgin London Marathon and Southampton Mencap will be one of them!

Seasoned Marathon Runner, Simon Botten, will be flying the Southampton Mencap flag and trying to raise as much as possible for Mencap here in Southampton.

But Mencap members and kind donators are also part of the Marathon Team! You can follow Simon's Training and preparation by clicking here or at http://twitter.com/ MencapMarathon .

Indeed, on the day (via the wonders of technology) you will be able to follow Simon's progress around the course via a Live GPS feed.

Southampton Mencap, as those of you who know us will testify, do a fantastic job with children, young people and families in the Southampton area. But we need your support to do this - so please give generously.