Hi all,

There's no point running a marathon without raising money for a good cause, so here's how you can help me make it all a bit more worthwhile! On April 23rd, I'm going to be running 26.2 miles (that's just over 42 kilometres, if you've gone metric), with two goals: 1. Beat my mother's marathon time (4 hours), and 2. Raise as much money as I can for Medecins Sans Frontieres, who do vital work in countries where it's sadly needed.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Medecins Sans Frontieres UK 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.

So please sponsor me now!

Thanks to everyone for keeping me going this far - I'll let you all know how it went afterwards!

Update: I did it!

I got round in 3 hours, 56 minutes and 17 seconds which means I made my target time (4hrs) with a bit to spare, so I'm very pleased with that. Thankyou to the lovely people who sponsored me for Medicins Sans Frontieres (you still can, for another month, here, or to me directly and I'll pass it on).

It was pretty amazing just being in a race with 35000 other runners. There were huge crowds at the train stations on the way there, and even more at the start itself (one of three starts, because they can't fit everyone in one place). I had race number 24600, so I put my bag in the correct end of the correct lorry and started at the back of the 5th holding pen, which orders the runners by expected finishing time to minimise crowding on the course. I found the pace runner for 9-minute miles (expected finishing time just under 4 hours) and tried to stay with that group as we went through the start. It only took about 3 minutes to get through the start from where I was waiting - an improvement on some reported times of over 20 minutes!

Anyway, once the race was under way there was a lot of excitement but it was difficult to run in a straight line because the field was so dense, There were a lot of phantom traffic jams coming back in waves as groups started walking to avoid hitting people in front. Once we'd thinned out a bit on some larger roads, it stopped being so much of a problem although I don't think I was ever more than a metre away from another runner and had to look out constantly for people moving across into my path. I feel like I ran about twice as far as I needed in those early sections just to avoid other runners.

I tried to stay with the pacer but it wasa bit difficult due to sheer numbers, and I lost him after stopping for a toilet break (on the third attempt - I stopped twice before but the queues were so slow I decided just to hold on a bit longer). Then I got a bit of a stitch coming over Tower Bridge and probably the worst moment was at 14 miles, when I looked at my watch (about 2:07 gone) and thought I wasn't going to make the 4 hours. I did later realise that 14miles wasn't half-way, but I think my legs were getting more blood than my brain at that point! I saw some of the elite men coming along the inward road as I ran out - rather (de/im)pressing to think they had run 9 miles further than me in the same time... After the stitch went away, I quite enjoyed some of the bit round the Docklands, although I lost all sense of direction, couldn't see any land marks, and totally missed some of the (~4m high, bright green-and-yellow, balloon-bedecked) mile markers. I started being very glad of the Lucozade at this point - I do think it makes a difference having that rather than just water. Some much-appreciated bystanders were also giving out jelly babies, so I had a couple. There were crowds all along the course, especially around pubs and landmarks, and next to the river, making a very large amount of noise. I'm not sure this really affected me; I know some people like having crowds but I don't think I really pay much attention to them; I was concentrating more on not crashing into anyone, not tripping over water bottles, and trying to spot the pace group ahead of me.

I finally caught up with the pacer (at least, I could see him in front of me again) just before the Embankment with only a few miles left. I think it was about the 21 mile mark where I really knew I could finish the marathon - it felt pretty hard and the pace was fast, but 5miles is a manageable distance and I couldn't really drop back there after so much effort earlier on. After the 25 mile mark, Big Ben suddenly came into sight and I saw the clock saying I had only about 7 minutes left to get in under the 4 hours. I picked it up a bit there and then coming past Buckingham Palace there were signs for 600m, and then 200m, and then the finish was visible. The clock (on race time, started at the gun when the first runners crossed the start line) was at 3:59:15 and counting. The announcer at the finish told the runners coming in that they had under a minute left to get in and told us to sprint, while the crowds counted down from 30 seconds. I think I got in on about 3:59:50, although my race time is a bit less due to the time taken to cross the starting line. My race photo will be absolutely hideous after that sprint to the line!

The organisers funnelled us very efficiently through the finishing area, so now I have a nice shiny medal and a rubbish-and-XL-but-at-least-free t-shirt. I could still walk around afterwards, and my legs didn't hurt quite as much as expected, but I couldn't walk up or down any step higher than 2 inches. I had to literally walk along the road until I found a lower bit of kerb to get up, and the underground stations were a nightmare. I had to go down the steps backwards! It got a few funny looks, especially further out from the centre where there weren't so many marathoners hobbling around.

So, that's about it. I got back to Cambridge ok and am getting better at the stairs! I'm glad I did the marathon; I think it's been a good learning and motivating experience, and I've met a few more nice people in Cambridge and elsewhere. I'm not inspired to do London again next year - too many crowds - but I might be keen for another marathon (possibly Loch Ness, in October, but we shall see...) at some point. For the next week or two, I'm having a bit of a break from running! (and feeling quite pleased with myself, for beating not only my 4 hour target but also Redgrave AND Pinsent!)