Hello, thankyou for visting my Justgiving page, you may have visited it before but now it has been updated because l am finally going to run a marathon!!

Well it was seeming like a great idea! I had planned to run the Loch Ness Marathon last October on what would have been my parents 45th wedding anniversary but sadly last April l damaged my Achilles and l just could not get it right in time to run. l was feeling terrible about letting down the people who had kindly donated, so l cycled around Loch Ness to try and make up for it. 67 miles in typical Scottish weather! Needless to say after four and a half hours of non-stop cycling l was wet! Sadly my support team (a.k.a my wife and mum) had misjudged my pace and l finished in a wet Inverness industrial estate carpark by myself.

So now after months of training in the depth of winter we are in a beautiful spring and l have three weeks to go till l run the Brighton Marathon on the 15th April. My training has been hard to fit in around work and general commitments, running five/six times a week but training really culminates in a race tomorrow, the Cranleigh 15/21 where l hope to run 21 miles! This will be the furthest l have ever run and the longest run as l wind back down before the big day on the 15th. Fingers crossed it will go well and l will update this page tomorrow night.

So there is obviously a reson why l am putting myself through this if you did not already know.

On the 19th October 2010 my dad passed away from lung cancer.

He was only diagnosed six weeks before he died, it wasn't very long for any of us to come to terms with it. l still haven't really. I keep thinking he might ring me to tell me the weather forecast like he used to, or natter about some football result or transfer. It still hurts every day, but this must be nothing in comparison to what my mum must feel, they were just able to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary two weeks before he passed and l cannot imagine the grief she feels.

They say time is a healer, and l guess it is, it did not feel that it could  be to begin with but in a way sadly life goes on. It does not mean l will ever forget my dad or that l have stopped loving him but running helps me, he always used to think l was mad, going out running, 'putting myself through it'. But now it is kind of cathartic, a release and a connection. So if by running, cycling, or however, l can help raise money by 'putting myself through it' a bit to help a worthy cause then my short term discomfort is worthwhile. 

.It will mean so much to me to complete this marathon, dad always loved being by the sea and would often go down to Brighton for the day with mum, it is also just before his birthday on the 17th April. But l am afraid l need to ask people to dig in and help me raise as much as we can for Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan help fund research in diagnosing, preventing and treating cancer and to support patients and their families through this devastating illness. And l have to say a massive thankyou to my cousin Charlotte Smith who is running the London Marathon the following weekend, the 22nd April, and has decided to raise money for Macmillan in memory of my dad. He was her godfather and l admire her spirit and determination to run a marathon considering she has never run anything more than a school race! You can donate at her Just Giving page; http://www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Smith-16 

You will have heard the headlines that cancer affects 1 in 3 people and we all know someone who has had their own battle and its the incredible work by charities who employ passionate people that help care for and comfort the ill and bereaved My dad was very fortunate to have some excellent help in his last weeks from his doctor, the district nurses and a Macmillan nurse who made his and our lives that little bit easier and helped my dad pass away dignified and peacefully at home in his bed.

 

You can keep tabs on me with my regular updates on Twitter, follow me on WhyImRunning and see how l am getting on. I will also keep this page updated and try to put up some pictures as l go so please keep checking back and if you can, donate. As my original challenge unfortunately had to go out the window l am in contact with the charities about doing some further fundraising. So if you forget about this run and October passes you by, don't worry l'll be back and pestering you for more!!

 

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 charity 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.

So please dig deep and donate now.