Dear Friends and Supporters,

I completed the inaugural Kielder Marathon ("Britain's Most Beautiful") with the official time of 5 hours 4 minutes 52 seconds (5:04:52). It was a very tough course and after a while, I gave up counting the number of steep inclines (including steep declines) and the sharp bends while climbing!!

The weather was fine and dry on the whole. The morning started cold and misty, then it turned sunny and warm, but in the afternoon it quickly turned cold and was slightly windy. Overall it's been a worthwhile experience.

Would I do it again? Yes, certainly, but I need to rethink my training schedule to incorporate hill training.  I know some of my friends think I'm really mad! Considering the fact that we met a runner who was running his 24th marathon since April 2009, I'm actually quite sane :-))

Thanks again for all your good wishes and generous support.

All being well, Edinburgh Marathon 2011 is next on the list ...

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Yes, I am absolutely mad !!

This is my second marathon for 2010 and I just can't resist running the first (inaugural) Kielder Marathon, a 26.2-mile course round Kielder Waters/Reservoir set in beautiful north-western Northumberland.

More importantly, this is the first anniversary of Mabel's surgery for ovarian cancer (in fact, her second major gynaecological ops in four years) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, in the north east of England. So far Mabel has done well, without any further chemo or radio-therapy, and is undergoing regular checks.

I therefore thought it's most timely to raise funds for a small local charity, the Northern Cancer Care and Research Society, which is involved in the research and management of gynaecological cancers. The charity had also purchased much-needed medical equipment in the past. Mabel's consultant oncologist is himself connected with the charity.

I do realise that I've asked my wider family, friends and supporters for donations/sponsorships this year .... if you could still support this worthy cause, I am very grateful indeed. Where possible, please do it on-line.   

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.

Any amount which you can donate will be very much appreciated.