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<div> Thanks for visiting my fundraising page. On Sunday 22nd April 2012, I will be running the Virgin London Marathon (my first marathon!). I have never done anything like this, so it’s a huge adventure for me. My chosen charity is the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). WSPA’s vision is of a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty has ended. WSPA exists to tackle animal cruelty across the globe. It works directly with animals and with the people and organisations that can ensure animals are treated with respect and compassion. Further information can be found on their website: <a href="http://www.wspa.org.uk/default.aspx">http://www.wspa.org.uk/default.aspx</a>   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.   Thank you for your support,   Fernand     Progress report I played with the idea of running the London Marathon in May 2011, and spent the following months doing some serious running practice. If finally decided to go for it in November, after running the Grand Canal Union half-marathon (it took me 2hrs 08, if you wonder). I had to slow down training after this half-marathon, due to a small injury in my left abductor, and took a couple of weeks off during Christmas. Afterwards, training went well until I picked up an Achilles tendonitis (ouch, it hurts…) on my left foot at the end of January – no doubt due to overtraining... Back in business at the end of February, with more limited ambitions and a lighter training programme! Things went well, and my long runs went progressively back to what I was supposed to do. Towards the end of March, I ran the Hastings half-marathon (1 hr 57). One week later, I ran my final long run -- 34 km, in just below 4 hrs. The final 3 weeks consisted of reduced running and were luckily eventless, except for random and not too serious aches. Marathon day. It was quite an experience! The first half went well, but I slowed down dramatically after. In particular, I had cramps after 30 km and had to walk for a while. The last km seemed like an eternity. They say that the crowd will lift you in these last km, and this was really true for me (thank you cheering crowd!). I was totally exhausted but somehow managed to run to the finish line. Total time: 4 hr 44 m 29 s. </div>

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