Please note that I'm not updating this page as it's a lot easier to edit the blog (on line diary) and add photos and other information there so, for background information such as why this charity is important to me, please read on, for new info and photos please clik on the link just below and you'll go to the blog - but please leave your sponsorship here first!!

Well here we go, five weeks to the London Marathon and I'm nervous! It's not as traumatic as last year's Channel swim but it's tougher than I expected it to be. Keeping plodding on after, 15, 16, 17, 18 miles is as hard mentally as physically and it is very, very, tiring. I used to do athletics when I was in the Army 30 years ago but then I did the pole vault (I kid you not!) which is obviously completely different from running 26.2 miles and remember.... it was 30 years ago....

I can't recall the last time I 'ran' prior to starting this training programme, now it sometimes feels as though I'm spending all my waking hours 'running'. The week before last I 'ran' 38 miles, last week it was 35 but that included my first proper race, the Silverstone Half Marathon (for more info and photos see my blog http://colinsmarathon08.blogspot.com/). The long and short of it is that I've 'run' 407.7 miles since I started training 6 months ago, which is probably about 407 miles further than I had in the previous 6 years.

Same as last year I'm raising money for two charities, the Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK), unfortunately the Just Giving pages can only be dedicated to one charity so if you'd like to donate to the PDS do so here, if you want to give to CRUK follow the link below, of course I'd prefer it if you gave to both!!

Also, I've decided this is the last charity challenge I'm going to do so - PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY - if you want, look on it as if you're paying me off to never darken your doorstep again! And to all of you that have donated in the past or are about to now, I offer a heart felt thank you, you really are helping to change lives and who knows, it may actually be an insurance policy for yourself......

So, why the PDS and CRUK? Most people reading this will know my dad died indirectly from Parkinson's Disease in August 2005. I saw him change from a sprightly 78 year old in 2000 to someone who was unsteady on his feet, then unable to walk without a stick, then a frame, then at all. The certificate named septicaemia as the cause of death but that was brought on by the bed sores caused by him being bed ridden due to the Parkinson's. It was a very sad day for me. The PDS research Parkinson's and possible cures, they also provide outstanding support to carers and loved ones of those affected, but they can only do this if they receive voluntary funding, hence my begging bowl before you.

And CRUK? Some people think it's because I had cancer when I was 21 but it's not, that was a long time ago and almost forgotten (but brought home to me fairly recently when someone said something quite poignant - but that's another story). Last year six people I know and like contracted cancer of varying types, five of them live in my village and very sadly one of them didn't recover and passed away leaving behind a wife and two young children. Seeing all these people in such close proximity being affected this way was shocking to me, that this life destroying disease can be so prevalant is wrong, we need to attack it the way it attacks us, but the way to do that effectively can only be found through research - which needs funding.

I believe they're both good causes and hopefully you agree, as I said earlier, please give generously to help them do their work. To put things in perspective, a pint is about £3 nowadays so if you had one less pint per week for the next 5 weeks (while I'm training for the Marathon!), you could donate £15 to the PDS or CRUK instead and, due to Gift Aid, they would actually receive £19.20!!

I won't be updating this page as frequently as my blog so if you are interested in hearing how I'm progressing, this is the place to go:

http://colinsmarathon08.blogspot.com/

If you'd like to drop me a line that would be great:

colinb333@hotmail.com

and if you want to go to the other Just Giving page where you can donate to Cancer Research UK, go here:

www.justgiving.com/colinruns4cruk

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Parkinson's Disease Society will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.