Well the race is over and I am glad to say although taking a lot longer to get round than my predicted time of 6 hours (due to lugging a ruck-sack full of carbohydrates for two hours, having been told by the organisers they will probably run out of carb gels etc....so excited forgetting to give it to Simon to hold and drip feed me as I run the course - I did manage to finish - injury free!. 

Having ditched the ruck-sack I managed to leave the donkey behind and take off!  The tin man sadly rusted as we had a shower at the start (he was melted down and made into key-ring holders now selling at Tesco's for 3.99) but I managed to sprint home and kept running straight into the pub for a guiness!!  Sophie, thanks for the advice not to worry if everyone goes flat out at the beggining -  I did overtake them on the way round I just ran out of time, otherwise I think I could have come 3rd!  oh well, maybe next time. 

The atmosphere and comraderie made for a fantastic day, the weather was perfect and thanks Si, Abi, Alex, Kat, Michelle and Kate who all came up to London to cheer me on and most of all a huge thanks to all of you out there who made it possible for me to realise a life-long ambition and dream - to wake up with my medal on my birthday (Sun 26th) was pretty special - once I was administerd oxygen and could focus it looked lovely - only joking, I could focus!!

 I knew I could rely on you all to support me and the charity I have chosen I know will be truly grateful of your generosity in these belt-tightening times!   - thank you all  

                                                          Nerisa

 

On the day 6,341 runners needed medical attention!  and the Angel of the North had to clip its wings due to extreme wind in the tunnel!!  ...true

 

My Story;-  I am raising money for a fabulously devoted charity to children called 'Children's Liver Disease Foundation - they kindly gave me a 'bonded' place as we (Abi) managed to mess up the application to Virgin!  - CLDF - for short do a fabulous job of being there for anyone or any family going through a difficult time with their child connected to liver disease and although we didn't know about them when Abi (now just turned 21) was ill or that she was not diagnosed with 'liver disease' as such - she had an awful lot of the same symptoms which reduced her a few years ago to being bed-ridden, jaundice, unable to eat, losing nearly 3 stone and unable to function  whilst suffering with severe irritation of the skin due to poor function of the liver.  Thankfully, after 16 months of tests and scans Abi had her gall-bladder removed on Alex's 16th Birthday - along with 3 stones (should have kept them and put them on e-bay!!) We are one of the lucky ones who can now say our little girl is fully recovered and back to normal, however there are many, many families who cannot say the same thing and I would like to use my longing to run/walk or as Alex says crawl, the marathon with raising funds for a charity that is so closely related to Abigail's symptoms and problems.  Please take a look at their website - www.childliverdisease.org and see the wonderful work they do and lets pray you never need them - but should you or someone you know , do...... they will be ready and waiting.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted email. 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.

I know there is still uncertainty over the state of the country and everyone is feeling the pinch so anything you can donate either large or small will be most gratefully received by CLDF.

Thanking you

*****RAFFLE held at the Bystander on St George's Day - raised £114, thanks to Paul and Sandra and everyone for generous ticket sales.  Thanks also to the local Co-op, Tesco, Leo fish & chips/takeaway, Oxford wines and everyone who donated prizes*******.

 

*** A BIG THANKS TO OXFORD HARLEY DAVIDSON who allowed me to fundraise at their annual Easter Toy Run to the John Radcliffe Hospital as they took toys to the sick children on Sunday - thanks Guys had a great day!!!

 

Nerisa aka not so speedy gonzalas