I'm running the Virgin London Marathon on behalf of Willen Hospice in April 2010.  I'm sure many people have in some way been touched by the work Willen Hospice do in Milton Keynes.

For those of you who know me well, I was due to run the marathon for the same cause in 2009, but had to defer my entry late on due to a knee injury.  Whilst recovering from this knee injury, I snapped my achilles tendon on May 14th 2009 whilst playing badminton.  This brought any exercise for the next 6 months to an abrupt halt.

Anyway, recovery went well and I took my first tentative running steps on October 27th.  A month on and I am now up to running 10k in one hit and am at about 20 miles a week - a far cry from the 40-50 miles I was managing 7 months ago, but encouraging none the less.  Last year my aim was to run the marathon in 3.5 hours, this year it is just to finish.  During my recovery from my injury, I didn't think I would run again this year, let alone be running the VLM in April.

It's now the middle of March (6 weeks to go) and things couldn't be going better.  I haven't ducked any training and built the long runs up to 21 miles per week.  I've slightly struggled on my eating (not eating enough) but I feel ready for the marathon.  Touch wood I have no injuries between now and the end of April.  As you can see by the lines under my eyes in the picture, sleeping has been a bit of an issue as well, as in I'm not getting much!

Everyone who knows Willen Hospice will understand the impact they have on people's lives.  I hope by running in the VLM on their behalf, i can raise funds to go towards the outstanding work they provide to the community of Milton Keynes.  I sincerely appreciate the opportunity they have given me to run in the VLM next year, and appreciate any donations people can make.