Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Yes, I really am going to take part in my first marathon in Dublin on 29 October 2007! I hope to keep this page updated with my progress in training. I've decided to run for SPARKS (Sport Aiding medical Research for Kids) which does fantatstic work for children. You can see for yourself by following this link: http://www.sparks.org.uk/ I think these few words sum it up perfectly for me: "More than anyone, sportsmen and women appreciate the blessing of good health and the ability to play the games they love. That's why we have a duty to help others grow up with the same opportunity in life. I'm honoured to be President of SPARKS."
- Martin Johnson CBE, England World Cup winning Rugby Captain Please dig deep and sponsor me online. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: SPARKS 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. Julian TRAINING UPDATES 3 September: Finished a half marathon race yesterday in 2:15. Treated it as a training run at marathon pace. Felt pretty good afterwards! 10 September: Missed two sessions this week due to a sore knee. Half way through the schedule with my longest run so far of 16 miles completed yesterday. Both knees were very sore at the end. 24 September: Only 5 weeks to go. 18 miles yesterday (slowly in 3:20) in perfect conditions but got my first blister! Shouldn't be a problem. 1 October: must have tempted fate as the blister got worse during yesterday's 18 miler despite large amount of vaseline (on the foot!). Ran in the Folkestone half marathon with 5 tacked on before. Good race, great weather and a view of France from the clifftop.
8 October : longest run completed - 20 miles and that really hurt towards the end. Doesn't sound like much but another 6.2 miles on top of that is going to be a real challenge. I hope the knees hold out. 15/22 October: last two long runs now completed, not much more I can do now before the big day. Training has gone as well as it could and I've missed only a few sessions and none of the long, slow Sundays. As I write this, if all has gone to plan, I'll be a couple of miles from the finish. Hope the weather is kind to us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 October: FINISHED IN 4 HOURS 40 MINUTES! What a fantastic experience. The support from the crowds was unbelievable, the weather was perfect and everything went well during the race. Felt strong all the way through and picked up the pace in the latter stages. Recovery now under way!
Thanks to all for your generosity.
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