***Update - 29th April 2010***

I am pleased to say that I completed the marathon in four hours and fifty-six minutes, a personal best for me and a time that I had never dreamed I would be able to achieve having missed out on those five weeks of training.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me and MNDA - this is such a deserving charity, I cannot thank you enough for your kind donations.  Please keep them coming so that we can keep helping those affected by Motor Neurone Disease.

Thank you.

Matthew

****End Update****

I'm running the Virgin London Marathon this year in memory of my best friend Paul's Uncle Andrew, who sadly passed away this year from Motor Neurone disease.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the upper and lower motor neurones in the brain and spinal column.  Degeneration of the motor neurones leads to weakness and wasting of muscles, causing increasing loss of mobility in the limbs, and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing.

While thankfully a relatively rare condition, two people in every 100,000 are diagnosed with this disease every year, all with an average life expectancy of between two and five years from the onset of symptoms.

Please donate to help support the MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association), who in turn will use your money to help people with MND secure the care and support that they need, while promoting research into causes, treatments and a cure.

This year, the marathon is more of a personal challenge than before as I missed five weeks of training due to an injury.  However, I'm still determined to raise some much needed funds for the MNDA and have some fun (or as much fun as you can have running 26.2 miles without enough training!).

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,

Matthew