THE last time I reviewed my run in Flora London Marathon I finished by saying how such prolonged pain meant I would be never be running it again.

But what I did not account for was being bitten by the marathon bug and I was therefore back on the start-line last Sunday.

This time I had done much more training, running more than 350 miles since Christmas, before a calf injury disrupted the last fortnight of my preparation.

That meant I was even more nervous than my previous run but before the race began those fears were calmed by again being able to mix with the celebrities.

I am not quite sure how it happened but I ended up being able to mingle with the likes of Ronan Keating, James Cracknell, Jonathan Pearce, Phil Daniels, Graham Poll, Floelle Benjamin, Harry Judd, Kate Lawler and Amanda Holden.

It was certainly an experience and so was the start of the race as the more serious athletes all barged past to try and work their way into a good position during the early stages.

That was not too bad but during this spell I was also passed by the usual array of runners in fancy dress.

Last time it was Bob the Builder and a giant Pepperami who surged past me but this year it was Batman, Tarzan, two clowns and an orangutan, all inside the opening half an hour.

Thankfully it did not put me off my stride and the first 18 miles went really well despite an absolute downpour.

Sadly the pain then started and, although my calf was fine, rather bizarrely not much else was!

My legs had both seized up and felt as if they were made from lead as I ran through the more deserted Isle of Dogs.

As a result this was the stage of the race where I was not sure whether or not I would be finishing.

That seemed to go on forever and hurt like hell but by the time I got to 22 miles I was strangely feeling fresh again, thanks to the increased number of supporters who were roaring me on as if I was a member of their family.

It was all very humbling and I made sure I turned off my I-Pod to take everything in.

The last mile along the Embankment and turning into the home-straight is something I will never ever forget, along with finally going across the finishing line which is a feeling words simply cannot describe.

I managed to get there in four hours 25 minutes, which was two minutes faster than I recorded last time and most importantly I have raised just short of £3,000 for Little Havens.

However, seeing as two days on I am still having to be helped out of my chair and have to go downstairs on my bottom because I cannot bend my legs it is almost certain I will not be running the marathon again.

But I think I have heard that before somewhere!

PS. It is still not too late to sponsor me. Little Havens is a wonderful charity (see my visit which was taped here http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/echovideo/) and any donation you would be able to make would be brilliant.

Thank you