That's that for another year, London Marathon number three completed and it was just about the most painful of them all. Thank you once again for all the support and encouragement I've received. I certainly needed it this year.
My plan for this year was to run a steady pace for the first half and decide what to do from there. In fact the first 16 miles went pretty well, but things went steadily down hill from there. My poorly ankle started to click and grind away and I think the few weeks I lost to injury during training started to count as well. Having said that, I kept plugging away and managed to get round the course in 4 hours 10 mins - no personal best fo me this year. On a more sobering note, the winner of the men's race finished in half that time!
As many of you know, this year I have been supporting the Myositis Support Group who had just four runners in the marathon. It is a small charity providing support and advice to myositis sufferers and their families. My dad is a polymyositis sufferer.
The money that you donated is much-needed by the group as, unlike the big charities, the Myositis Support Group does not receive any allocated 'Golden Bond' places for runners in the marathon. Raising cash when there are so many other big and equally-deserving charities can be a struggle.
Don't worry if you haven't yet had time to donate cash to my Justgiving site. The site will remain open for a few more weeks and will be accepting donations. Go on, you know you want to.
I'm sure many of you know that donating money through Justgiving is really easy and totally secure. The Myositis Support Group gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
Thank you again for all the support you have given me this year. It really is appreciated.
Best wishes,
David
