<p>Hello! Thanks for taking the time to visit my <span style="color: #800080;">JustGiving page</span>.</p> <p>On Sunday, 17th April 2011 I completed the Virgin London Marathon! I&nbsp;ran in aid&nbsp;of the <strong>Scottish SPCA</strong>, Scotland's leading animal welfare charity, in a time of 6 hours 14 minutes 29 seconds.</p> <p>What a fantastic experience- the sun shone and the crowd support was awesome. Perfect conditions really! I was aiming for a finishing time of under 5 hours, and looked to be on target after reaching mile 12 in just under 2 hours....the humidity and growing heatwave had other ideas though, and soon put paid to that target!!</p> <p>I was delighted to finish and can honestly say I enjoyed every aspect of my first marathon; aside from resembling John Wayne the day afterwards (more a waddle than a walk), I haven't suffered any ill-effects, not even a blister! Shiny medal pics and official photos from the day to follow.....</p> <p>Huge thanks to everyone who made a donation via this page and also to&nbsp;those who supported my fundraising offline- your generosity means a lot and will go a long way towards helping the animals who will benefit from it most :)</p> <p><span style="color: #00ff00;"><span style="color: #000000;">Here's the important stuff: </span></span>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Simples!</p> <p>Many thanks</p> <p><span style="color: #800080;"><strong><em>Marie</em></strong></span></p>