Well it is over!! The details of my race are shown below. In summary I did Ok, but could have been better. Was doing quite well until cramp set in at mile 21 and I had to stop. Last 5 miles were quite horrible as every time I tried to get any speed up the cramp came back. Rubbish!! Hence the 29 minute 5k between 30k and 35k. It was however a fantastic experience and I think I can honestly say I enjoyed almost every moment of it. It was great to see some of your friendly faces through the race it was a massive help. Thank you to all. Now for a couple of weeks of junk food and beer. Bring it on!!

*Update 10/04

Thank you to every one who sponsored me and for your kind / funny / rude comments. I have printed them all out and will be looking at them before the start of the race, and maybe even during if I need that extra little bit of encouragement.  

We have now raised £1100 which is awesome. Well done to all. Now the hard bit…

For those of you who haven't sponsored me there is still time.....

Just finished my third jacket Potato. I love this carbo loading!

Thanks again,

James

(Excited)

**Update**

TheMarathon is *One* week away, so it is time for another update and a reminder to those of you who wanted to sponsor me, but have not had time to do so, or have simply forgotten.

A BIG thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to sponsor me so far, but I still have a long way to go to reach my target of £1000, so keep the money rolling in! Your comments are also a great motivation so keep them coming too.

Training has been going well, I did a 1h26 half marathon, and I am now hoping to get closer to the 3 hour mark (Mark you may want to revise your donation plan!), although as ever, my number one priority is to finish!

For those of you who will be attending the marathon, I will be wearing a white head band and a red t-shirt so keep an eye out for me and give me an extra shout of encouragement. Anyone who is going to theMarathonas a supporter, please wear orange to coordinate with the NASS T-shirts we already have and to help me pick you out from the crowd.

We are also looking into getting licenses to carry buckets for money collection at the marathon, so if anyone would like to collect for NASS then please give us your names.

Many thanks,

James

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Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.

I am running for a great charity, National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society, which is close to my heart as it is something that has affected both my dad and my brother.

My target time is 3 Hours 25 miniutes and the more money I rasie the better the motivation I will have to beat this time!

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: National Ankylosing Spondylitis 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.

James

The Charity - National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society http://www.nass.co.uk

Ankylosing means fusing together. Spondylitis indicates inflammation of the vertebrae. Both words come from the Greek. So, AS describes the condition by which some or all of the joints and bones of the spine fuse together.

AS is a painful, progressive, rheumatic disease affecting approximately 1 in 200 men and 1 in 500 women in Britain. It mainly affects the spine but it can also affect other joints, tendons and ligaments. Other areas, such as the eyes, lungs, bowel and heart can also be involved.

Inflammation occurs at the site where certain ligaments or tendons attach to bone (enthesis). This is followed by some erosion of bone at the site of the attachment (enthesopathy). As the inflammation subsides, a healing process takes place and new bone develops. Movement becomes restricted where bone replaces the elastic tissue of ligaments or tendons. Repetition of this inflammatory process leads to further bone formation and the individual bones which make up your backbone, the vertebrae, can fuse together. The pelvis is commonly affected first. The lower back, chest wall and neck may also become involved at different times.