I did it..............!

Well, what a day, what a buzz, what an atmosphere and reflecting upon it, I still cant quite believe what happened.

Quite literally one of the most incredible things I have ever experienced. At times a blur, at times shere focus, at times soaking up the crowds cheers, but mainly the thrill of being part of history and never have strangers been so inspirational in pulling you through to a goal, especially from 20 miles+.

Saying that, a big thank you to Sarah and Maisie, David and Leanne, Linda, Marjie, Kev and Maya, Sparky Mark and Lauren, who stood on tip-toes for great parts of the day looking out for me and to-ing and fro-ing from mile to mile. Bless you all. You really really did help me.

But importantly, to all of you who sponsored and supported me, the texts and emails of well wishing, I cannot begin to tell you how much it spurred me on.....

So, much to my absolutely chuffness I conquered the course in 4:21:54, a creditable 16,629 overall....thats the top half of the field I think!!!!

For those of you who were able to dedicate much of your day to watching, whilst I wasn't picked out by the cameras, Steve Cram gave me a good mention whilst in conversation with Paula Radcliffe.....glory at last! And big thanks to Rachel for arranging that, so so appreciated.

I didn't hit the Wall, but boy my legs took a pounding and as I came to the point that says 385 yards to go, the commentator said "for many runners this is their first marathon.....and for those it may well be their last". At that point I clearly knew what he meant......but never say never!

To date, with Express Yourself Campaign matching my sponsorship, I am just over £7,000 raised. A tremendous amount and again I thank you all.

So, until the next challenge, its time to enjoy putting my feet up, getting back on the beers and letting Sarah get her wish of a full nights sleep as I tend to Maisie!!!

  

Bless you all,

 

Matt

 

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Your support is greatly appreciated (and by my little Sis who suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis) in my campaign to raise some well deserved funding for Arthritis Research UK (www.arthritisresearchuk.org) by running the 2010 London Marathon on Sunday 25th April. Bring it on!

I will try and email you personally as a way of thanks and keep you up-dated with my target and training progress.

So thanks for visiting and kindly donating, go on......fill my justgiving boots!

Bless ya,

Matt

(original email message and background to running as below)

It is with great excitement (and only a slight hint of nervousness of course!) that I look forward to the greatest 26.2 mile sight-seeing tour of my life in  London......in April.

Having been inspired by cheering on the might of Sarah and Leanne in 2008, I am chuffed to bits to have finally been given the chance to put my 18 month training to the test by running this year’s London Marathon for Arthritis Research UK.

If following in Sarah and Leanne’s foot-steps wasn’t enough of a goal for me (for more reasons than one) you may also be aware that my little sis Chloe has suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 5 years now. It pains me when I hear of her daily struggle to cope with this affliction, so running for the Charity and with her in mind especially, will definitely spur me on.

I am sure many of you will know someone who is also affected by Arthritis…..so I politely ask if you could kindly donate to this great cause by going to my donation page.........(yes that’s me with little sis!)

Thanks so much in advance for supporting me to achieve this 26.2 milestone, but also backing me in what is a huge huge huge personal goal.

Bless ya,

Matt

p.s. so that you know.....

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.