Final details

4 hours, 2 minutes and 54 seconds! Completed!

 

Thank you to everyone who  came out to support me, made it one of the most incredible days of my life - something I will never forget. Final total looks to be around the £4,000 - £4,100 mark, quite incredible and all down to your generosity - so Thank you!

 

Update #4 (23/04/10) - Final update before the run. Running number - 43092, Colour shirt (MS Trust Logo Blue with K P printed on it) 

So - in exactly 48 hours I will hopefully be standing at the London Marathon start line surrounded by tens of thousands of fellow runners, desperate for a pee and generally kacking myself at the thought of running 26.2 miles. No way out now!  The weather for the day is set to be good for watchers, terrible for runners.  22 degrees, "muggy", but hopefully with some sunshine too.

For those of you who haven't been bombarded by endless e-mails from me/my brilliant PA (Bel), the general plan (for those of you in and around London who fancy joining up with some of my supporters) is:

THE RACE

10.30 - 11am : Meet outside Tower Hill Tube station. The Kilpatrick Clan will probably be there early, so hopefully have already secured a good viewing spot by the time you arrive. You can call on any of the below to find out exact location:

Bel = 07737 918864

Mrs KP = 07770 665104 

George (GK) =  07747 842350 

11:30 - 12:15pm : Hold hands in prayer in the hope that I have made it to the 12-13 mile marker

1:00 - 1:30pm : Reattach the prayer circle (considerably tighter than before) to support in spirit over the 10 miles until I return to the Tower Bridge area again after 22 miles between 1 and 1.30pm.

2:00pm-2:30pm - I am planning to be near/crossing the finish line, dignity in tact. 

TEA

4 - 7pm

For those of you who want to please come along for tea back at 7 Fabian Road, Fulham, London SW6 7TY, any time after half 3-4pm, when I should be back. My housemates (the legends that they are) will be equally glad to welcome you should there be any unforeseeable delays! It really is the case of the more the merrier, so please do bring along whoever you like. I want to extend my gratitude for all the sponsorship and for the support, and also to say that the tea invite really is to both supporters who are actually watching the run but also to those of you who have been so kind in supporting both financially and emotionally! 

TRACKING RUNNERS

There is now an App (I think only for I-phones, but may work on Blackberrys too) which allows you to track when a runner crosses each mile (Running number for KP - 43092), If you send the word "RUN" to 83040 you will be sent a link to the app. It will update you with the runners progress every 5k, giving you a better idea of whether he is running or walking!

AND FINALLY....

Finally I must thank you all for all your wonderful support over the last few months.  Whether it be the financial generosity of almost one hundred donors to my current fundraising total of £3,785, the emotional support of friends (most notable my housemates who have put up with me discussing the marathon since January) or the lovely messages people have left on my Just Giving page/via e-mail - it really has been an incredible experience already.  Fingers crossed that race day goes to plan, and that those on the sidelines have an enjoyable day in such an incredible and memorable atmosphere.

Thank you once again, and hopefully see as many of you at tea after it is all over as a thank you from me! I will send an e-mail round on Monday letting you all know how it went!

Update #3 (24/03/10) - Training Update and Successful Fundraising

I am pleased to announce (as you can see from the bright blue sun at the top of my page) that I have finally raised (and exceeded) my target of £3,000. I cannot thank every one of you enough for your generosity over the last few months.  Having originally set myself a target of £1,800 I am almost lost for words to explain how grateful I am that, thanks to your kindness, we have raised such a significant amount for the Multiple Sclerosis Trust. 

Training is back up and running for the final push, largely thanks to my physio who has managed to reduce the pain of running on my knee.  Having done 19 miles last Saturday I am now confident I can make it round the full 26.2 miles without causing myself serious and long-term injury (always a relief).

Over the next week or so I will be e-mailing those interested in coming to support me on the big day where my parents/main cheerleading squad (led by my twin sister) will be based for the day.  For all of you interested I will be holding a late afternoon/early evening tea party (don't worry there will be some alcohol there for those of you who need it) at 7 Fabian Road, Fulham (SW6 7TY) after the race.  I won't promise you a specific time that I'll be back from the Mall (for obvious reasons), but details will be sent out closer to the big day (and my housemates will be more than welcoming should you beat me there on the day).  Even if you don't fancy coming to watch the actual marathon, please do feel free to come and visit us at Fabian Road for a cup of tea or something a little stronger (suspect the plan will be an open house from about 4pm-8pm!)

Update #2 (10/03/10) - Training Update and new Revised Target

The last few weeks have not been kind to the training regime.  Having completed 15 miles about 4 weekends ago I developed "jumper's knee", a temporary and manageable injury for most first time marathon runners, but painful nonetheless.  As such I have had to take training down a notch. Skiing in Verbier last week seems to have helped strengthen and improve the afflicted area (in no small thanks to the invaluable advice re. caring for my knee I received from Wendy Osorio - thanks Wendy), so some good news there.  Further problems have ensued this week due to picking up a nasty bug immediately after my ski trip, but I am hopeful that I will be pounding the streets of London once again this Saturday morning.  Thanks again to all of those who have donated so far.  I will try, over the next few weeks, to formulate some sort of plan for those of you coming to watch and support on the day, especially for those of you who would like to catch up with my parents.

Finally, to keep the fundraising efforts going that little bit further, I am extending my target by a final £500, to a total of £3,000!

Update #1 (16/02/10) - Revised Target

Due to the incredible kindness and generosity of all those who have donated so far I am please to say I have comfortably exceeded my original target of £1,800, and have decided, for the sake of the charity, to up my sponsorship challenge by a further £700 to £2,500.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have parted with their cash over the last month or so.  I've been absolutely blown away by the donations received - so thank you all so much.  It's a great motivator for training in the freezing cold!

Spazfoot goes the whole distance!

After completing my AMREF half-marathon in early last year, the time has come for me to attempt the full marathon distance.  On Sunday 25^th of April I will be running the Virgin London Marathon in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Trust.  My target for sponsorship is £1,800 but clearly anything over this will be a massive bonus, so please give generously!

Personal Challenge

The marathon is not only a great way for me to raise some money for a charity like the MS Trust that undertakes such fantastic work, but is also a way to achieve one of my own personal and life-long challenges.  As many of you will be aware I have a club foot (hence the above nickname).  The running of the marathon distance, I suspect, would not be something my doctor would approve of, but for me this only adds to the challenge and makes me even more determined to complete it. 

Currently the training is going well with no adverse side effects on the foot….so I am confident it is up to the main challenge come April time.  I will, of course, keep this page up to date with my training progress throughout the next few months.

My intention this time (unlike the half-marathon last year) is to finish with both shoes on (I lost a toe nail half way round), and without the rather embarrassing chest area chaffage I suffered (poor pre-match preparation). [See photograph above for evidence]

For those of you who would like to see me attempt this on the day, please do get in touch.  My parents have kindly agreed to fly over from for the race and I’m sure would love to see as many of you there as possible.

Thank you.....

Finally a quick early thank you to all of you who donate to what I believe to be a very worthwhile cause.   Thank you also goes to my current personal trainer - Mr Charlie Oughton (the training would be a whole lot more of a challenge without the help of this experienced marathon runner)! 

Also thanks to all of you who live in Fulham/Putney/Wandsworth Bridge Road who have so far put up with me running in some fairly dubious attire without feeling the need to throw stuff at me.....

Now for a little bit about the Multiple Sclerosis and the MS Trust

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

MS is the most common disease of the central nervous system affecting young adults

In Multiple Sclerosis damage is caused to the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres throughout the central nervous system (comprising of the brain and spinal cord). This damage (called demyelination) disrupts the way in which messages, or nerve impulses, are carried to and from the brain and so can interfere with a range of the body's functions.

The symptoms experienced depend on the position and extent of the scarring or lesions within the central nervous system and on how much damage has occurred, so no two people with MS will have exactly the same set of symptoms.

In the earlier stages of MS, the central nervous system can often repair areas of damaged myelin or reroute messages via different pathways of neurons thereby avoiding the damaged areas. This explains why episodes of symptoms (relapses) can be followed by weeks, months or even years when symptoms improve or disappear (remission). However, if the area of damage becomes too large, communication with that specific part of the central nervous system may become permanently blocked

Common Symptons

- fatigue

- loss of vision in one eye

- blurred or double vision - weakness of limbs

- reduced coordination

- balance problems

- numbness, pins and needles, burning sensations

 

Diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis

Getting a diagnosis of MS can be a long and difficult process, not least because the symptoms of MS are common to many other conditions.

There is no one test or procedure that can be used to accurately diagnose MS on its own. Diagnosis is usually based on a history of symptoms (perhaps an unexplained episode of blurred vision years before, or pins and needles in the hands or feet) and on the results from a series of tests. Doctors need to rule out other possible causes of symptoms before they can confirm a diagnosis of MS.

Diagnosing the disease is, therefore, difficult and can often be a long and drawn out process for sufferers.

Living with Multiple Sclerosis

As you can see from the above, MS affects everyone in a different way.  No two people with MS experience the same symptoms to the same degree.  This is why the MS Trust concentrate themselves on dealing with each individual case, providing individual and personal support and information to the patient.

MS is a complex and unpredictable condition that varies from person to person and does not follow a set pattern. Symptoms can come and go from day to day but there can also be relapses followed by periods of complete or partial remission. For other people, MS can be more progressive in nature.

For more information on the 4 distinct types of MS (benign, relapsing/remitting, secondary progressive and primary progressive) please see the following page on the website: http://www.mstrust.org.uk/information/aboutms/types.jsp

 

The work of the MS Trust

The MS Trust is a charity which works with and for people in the with MS. Their vision is to enable people with Multiple Sclerosis to live their lives to the full.  Having done my own research in to the effects of MS I was shocked by how little is known about the causes of the disease as well as how to cure it (currently there are no known cures, only ways to help patients cope and minimise the impact of the disease).

The MS Trust principally provide:

- Information that is tailored to what people want to know

- Education for heath professionals about what people with MS need

- Research into better management of MS

- Support for anyone affected by MS  

 

The core beliefs of the charity are for sufferers of MS to:

 

- Have access to high quality services to enable them to maintain as active a lifestyle as possible.

- Have access to trained health care professionals such as MS specialist nurses.

- Be equal partners with the professionals in making choices about their health care.

- Have the information to help make the right choices for them.

If you would like to find out more about the amazing work the charity does please see their website (or feel free to e-mail me) at the following address:

http://www.mstrust.org.uk/

Thank you all for your time in reading this page (if you got to this point!).  I hope the above has provided you with some insight in to Multiple Sclerosis.  If you don’t feel like donating then at least I can say I have spread a little bit of an understanding of the impact of this disease to a few more people!

Ben Kilpatrick

 

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