So I've arrived back from the Marathon, on what can only be described as a fantastic weekend, fantastic support, and a great atmosphere.

Before I go into the detail though, which I understand some of you won't read, here's my final plea for sponsorship, if you read nothing else please read the next paragraph.

Having arrived at the assembly area at about 08:30, depositing my kit onto the awaiting lorries, I took a stroll around the area, promptly seeing a guy, probably mid 40's, with the Prostate Cancer Charity running vest on, and naturally went over to wish him luck in the run. He asked me my intended time, how the training had gone and the sponsorship was going, informing him I'd raised to date just short of £2,500, which I was really happy with it. I continued to ask him what his ambitions for the day were, where he informed me he had recently had two vertebrae in his neck operated on, and the doctors had told him not to run for fear of dislodging them, however he was determined to walk the course. I asked him why not defer to next year, where he went on to tell me he actually is a sufferer of prostate cancer, and the doctors have only given him 12 - 18 months to live. There and then how humble can one person feel. He informed me of his determination to complete the course this year, as he was not sure of how his condition would be in 2009, and ultimately if he would be here. I wished him the best of luck, and what could only be a massive personal achievement for him in such adversities. I can only admire such a person, and admittedly it brought a tear to my eye. It was this guys strength and determination that drove me on to complete the gruelling last 6 miles, which shortly I'll go on to tell you about. So please, if you haven't already, I urge you to donate to find a cure for this, the justgiving.com page is open for another 60 days to receive donations at http://www.justgiving.com/dave-surgey-marathon08

While I make no apologies for the start of this final thread, as ultimately this has been what it is all about, before I go onto the whole detail, again for those who've read enough here's how it went:

I completed the course in the official time of 3hrs, 40mins and 46 secs, so really pleased with that. 35,044 started the race / run, and by 18:30 34,420 had completed the course. 4093 runners and staff required medical attention, and 40 were admitted to A&E, so probably not the end to the day they hoped for!

Overall, I finished 6,558, and 5,782 for my gender category. For my age group I finished 1,014.

I achieved my goal of under 4 hours, and so nearly hit my initial target of 3:30. So all in all, pleased with my time, especially for my first ever full marathon. So, for consistency, achieved a mile every 8mins and 25 seconds, to be honest chuffed to little mint balls!

The event started Saturday, registering at the Marathon Expo at ExCel in London's Docklands. Registration was great, quickly through and chance to have a look around, grabbing all sorts of useful stuff, pace bands and a Lucozade Sports pack, worth it's weight in gold with 2x 500ml Sports drinks, 6x carbo gels, 1x energy bar and 2 sachets of recovery drink, plus info on when to take. Saturday consisted however of 2 meals of pasta, no meat, and several J2O's!!

For those who watched, the men's race commenced at 09:45, crossing the start line approximately 1 minute after, so a good forward position. Disaster struck when 200mtrs in, a call of nature was made, along with probably about 20 others at the time!!!

I commenced on, dropping on a guy from New Zealand with a prostate cancer vest on, and promptly ran the next 3-4 miles with them, the weather becoming quite warm, not ideal running conditions! As the pace picked up, I later dropped on a couple of guys running their third marathon, aiming for 3hrs 25secs. I maintained with them up to around mile 17, setting a good pace, crossing the half way point at 1hr 42 minutes and 10 secs. This was a great time at just over 13 miles, taking on plenty of water at the vittel stations based every 3 miles and the lucozade sport stands at mainly each 5 mile point. I'd taken 2 carbo gels with me, one at mile 7 and the other around 15, nasty stuff but worth its weight in gold!

The support all along the route was great, supporters out in force, parties and BBQ's as we passed the pubs (how jealous was I?!?!), ST.John Ambulance with 'Hi-5's' passing Vaseline on for those all important rashes developing, spectators with haribo, jelly babies, handing them out as you ran past to give that little bit of carbs to the muscle stores.

The knee was holding out with the support I'd decided to wear, more as a confidence thing, however little did I know it was creating a great rash on the back of the knee and also rubbing on the opposite leg, quite irritating in the last few miles! Also failed to notice the blood stain from my left nipple develop from a rash, only noticed this at the end, so naturally it started to irritate then!!

I passed my parents at the 14 mile point, a recognised Prostate Cancer support location, which was fantastic and really drove me on, and due to the course looping back they were only about 100mtrs from Mile point 21, another recognised Prostate Cancer support location.

For those who watched, the heavens didn't take long to open up, so glorious sunshine turned into heavy downpour, and while the initial cooling was welcome, the driving rain over Tower Bridge was only beaten by the fantastic support on there.

So the last 6.2 miles, as people say, the area well regarded for 'hitting the wall', your body saying, enough is enough, I'm spent! My calves were in bits, knee and left hamstrings aching, but again the crowd were fantastic. Short walks to regain composure, and stops to stretch off the calves were greeted by 'Come On Wavey, nearly there, keep going' which without being soft was often quite emotional. The thoughts of my conversation with the guy in the assembly area, the support of the crowd, and the donations everyone has pledged made me determined to complete this course, although when you're not sure which mile marker you've passed you begin to worry, the confusion and mental ability starting to drain.

My parents had somehow navigated the tube for themselves, and managed to get from Limehouse at support mile 21 to the corner of Westminster, cheering me on as I passed the corner heading to St James and the Mall, passing Buck Palace on the way and giving a wry smile to maybe the Queen looking down on us!

So the final 800 metres, probably the worst of my life, thinking, just twice around the running track, nearly there, 26 miles behind me, but then after what seemed a life time, the 600mtr sign popped up!! Noooooo! Admittedly quite disheartening as I thought I'd covered more distance, but as I entered the final straight, the support was the greatest, giving that final sprint finish, arms aloft applauding the support we were all receiving, before crossing the most welcome site of the Finish Line, receiving my medal, goody bag, and nearly falling over!!

My knees and calves are now in pieces, however, as they say, 'pain is temporary, pride is forever'

This is the hardest physically demanding test I've undertaken, using every ounce of energy, physical and mental strength, but I'm more than happy with the time I've achieved, and more importantly the amount of money we have raised.

I could write forever, but I'm sure you've all had enough by now! I would recommend this to anyone, however training is the key! I would love to complete in under 3hrs 30, and have learnt so much over these last couple of days alone.

So it's a massive thank-you to everyone who has supported me on this challenge, what next, maybe New York.........................

All the best

Dave

PS - Technical stuff!

http://results-2008.london-marathon.co.uk/index.php?lastname=Surgey&firstname=&club=&gender=&nation=&event_id=MAS&position=&split=FINISHNET&Submit=show+results+%3E%3E&a=d&o=s&start_no=38897&ostart_no=#

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Prostate Cancer Charity 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.