Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

If you already know you want to sponsor me, scroll down to the bottom of the page and do so! If not, please read on and let me try to persuade you...

I'm Stephen Gunn, and I will be running the Flora London Marathon on 23rd April 2006, my first ever attempt at running the 26.2 mile marathon distance.

Why would I do this??? To raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust, that's why.

In May 2003, we lost our nephew, Daniel Campbell, to leukaemia, at the age of 17. During the treatment he underwent for his illness, it was very clear that the facilities offered by the NHS to treat teenagers with cancer were not fully conducive to their recovery.

The Teenage Cancer Trust is the only Charity specifically dedicated to building and equipping Units for teenagers and young adults suffering from cancer, Hodgkin's disease, leukaemia and related problems. The Charity designs and builds dedicated adolescent cancer units in hospitals and funds and organises support and information services for patients, their families, schools and health professionals. TCT anticipates a 15% increase in survival rates for the patients treated on the units. TCT currently has 8 units and needs at least another 14 so that every teenager in the UK has access. Units cost an average £1.5 million each. Click here to find out more about TCT's work. 

I would like to help the TCT to build new units, so that more teenagers with this devastating illness can be treated in surroundings in which they are more likely to respond positively to their treatment.

Please help me by digging deep, and sponsoring me in my training for, and running in, the London Marathon!

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Teenage Cancer Trust 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! Please? Pretty please???

Whether you're the 1st person to make a pledge, or the 101st, please don't be shy!

Many thanks for your support,

Stephen Gunn, January 2006

2/3/06 Training progress update - training is currently going well, though I missed a week during February with a minor injury. Did my longest run ever last Sunday - 16.75 miles. Somehow, I've got to find almost 10 miles more than this on race day! Just realised that, now we are in March, the race is "next month". That sounds scary!

7/3/06 - completed 18 miles last Sunday, which was quite painful due to the long steep hill I included at the end. "Just" a couple of long 20 milers to go now in terms of long training runs, plus a couple of half marathons (these should be a stroll-in-the-park by comparison!), and then it's all downhill until the day itself.

14/3/06 - training took a bit of a setback last week. Started getting problems with my right calf. I missed a few days training as a result, and dropped out of the half marathon I was entered into last Sunday. Things seem to have improved quite quickly, though, and I'm back into training and should be back on target by the end of this week.

20/3/06 - completed my first 20 mile training run yesterday, which has boosted my confidence in being able to complete the race. Mind you, my legs feel as stiff as railway sleepers today!

3/4/06 - was due to complete my second (and final) 20 mile training run yesterday. I had missed most of my training last week due to a minor injury, so was well rested. However, I found, in the end, that I was not up to completing the full 20 miles, and stopped at just over 18. I'm aching a lot today. I just hope that the sponsorship, and crowd support on the day, will carry me through those last few miles on race day!

11/4/06 - I took part in the Reading half marathon last Sunday as a "warm-up" for the big day. I finished this very comfortably, but found that my pacing was lousy. I intended to do the distance at my intended marathon pace or slower, but ended up going quite a bit faster for much of the distance. I hope I can discipline myself better for marathon day! My legs are feeling fresh today, so the half marathon doesn't seem to have taken too much of a toll on me.

20/4/06 - Oh my! Only three days to go now! I'm feeling quite nervous, but also excited. I'm going for a short 2 mile jog tomorrow - other than that, my training is all in the bag. Please wish me luck!

25/4/06 - I'm pleased to say that I completed it, in a time that I was pleased with (4:19). Knowing that I had such generous sponsors behind me helped keep me motivated, both during the long winter training runs and during the event itself. I am extremely appreciative of all your donations, and I know that the Teenage Cancer Trust are as well. Thank you. I've not yet totalled up all the donations I've received, but I am confident that they could add up to over £2,000!

6/5/06 - I've now added up the total sponsorship, both online and offline. With gift aid to be added to some offline payments, the total is £2,611.62 by my reckoning! That is almost exactly £100 per mile! This makes all the training, and running the 26+ miles all seem very worthwhile indeed! Thanks, everyone! P.S. You are very welcome to leave further donations, of course!