Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I have always wanted to compete in a marathon and I was really pleased when I was chosen to run on behalf of Friends United Network (FUN), which has recently changed its name to Friendship Works.  Friendship Works is a charity supporting children in by providing a reliable and trustworthy adult volunteer for each child. Friendship Works volunteers spend a few hours each week with the child they support doing simple activities like playing football, going to the park, visiting a museum or just having a chat in a café. Through these activities volunteers build a one-to-one relationship with the child and help them to build self-confidence and esteem.

Between now and the marathon on the 25th of April 2010, my goal is to raise £3,000.  I know this is going to be a tall order but I'm really committed to making this happen.  Now, I better start training!  From time to time, I'll update you and let you know how my training is progressing.

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.  Alternatively, you can donate cash to me and I'll update my JustGiving page to show the amount I have raised offline.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Many thanks.

Regards

Simon

Update - 25 February 2010 - my training is going relatively well - I'm due to do a 15km training run this Sunday and I'm running the MK Half Marathon next Sunday - I'll let you know how it goes!

Update - 8 March 2010 - my legs are pretty sore today after running the Milton Keynes half marathon yesterday.  My time was 02h03.55. I wanted to do sub 2 hours, but it was not to be... The main thing is that I ran the whole way... Now I must press on and up the mileage...

Update - 21 April 2010 - I've run 3 half marathon distances in the last 6 weeks as well as various other distances so now I need to taper down and take it relatively easy in the final 10 days before the marathon...My fundraising is going really well - I have raised £2,530 which represents 84% of my target - thanks to all of you who have donated for your generous donations... It would be great if I managed to raise a further £470 in the final 4 days...

Update - 26 April 2010 - Wow!  running the marathon yesterday was a really great experience!  The crowd support was second to none and helped me run the first 18 miles (29 km) after which I walked and ran and then walked some more! Although my time of 5hrs 29mins 39s was slower that I wanted to run, the experience was definitely worth the effort.  I must thank everyone who has made a donation to Friendship Works- ITS REALLY APPRECIATED !