Wow!

I did it... I did it!

What a tremendous sense of achievement I now have and one heck of an experience.

Many months of preparation - I didn't appreciate the commitment I had taken on and at the final stages of the Marathon training it became all consuming. I had to go to bed early every night!

I couldn't have done the training without everyones support but also when my legs decided to stop helping me at 21 miles your support was one of the things that helped me through the pain. I simply had to keep going to convert all the pledges into cash for MacMillan nurses. The first 18 miles was relaxed and enjoyable. I chatted to other runners, enjoyed running through Phoenix park. I bumped into people I had met the day before and even met people that had been in contact via the internet. Between 18-21 I started to get progressively more tired. I wasn't worried - I had trained hard for 6 months. My pulse was good, my pace was spot on. In training I had done 22.5 miles and I had been assured that the reduced mileage or taper in the 3 Weeks before the marathon would carry me the extra 4 miles. Then wham **** the infamous wall. I could barely shuffle. I was in pain. My hips hurt, my feet hurt and I had some nasty chafing on my thighs and arms. My body was saying STOP - My brain was saying - go on, you've trained for months, you have to continue, you're doing this for charity. It was intensely upsetting - only 5 miles to go but I had severe doubts. My face was contorted between crying out loud and smiling because of the sense of achievement. And the perverse thought I had was get this pathetic end to the marathon out of the way, lose weight and return to another Marathon in a years time. As I neared the finish line, the noise form the crowds and the tannoy system filled me with a feeling of elation. I had done it! I had run 26.2 miles - Run it - not walked it! I spent the afternoon in the pub with other Marathon runners some of whom have also sponsored me on this site. This crowd are the most good humoured, mutually supportive group of people I have ever had the privilege to meet. Thanks to everyone who gave me moral support and for helping me raise an extraordinary amount of money. Huge thanks to all my colleagues customers and friends and to PGI nonwovens for their incredible support. Entering and training for a Marathon was a huge experience for me. I have made new friends. I have discovered more abut pushing myself to the extreme and it has expanded my horizon. I have lost a great deal of excess weight and feel much healthier. What next? - Well a few months off Marathon training and perhaps a few half marathons and work on my general fitness and losing some more weight .... UNLESS that is I get into the Flora London Marathon in which case I will work towards shaving 39 minutes off my chip time and aim for a sub 4 hour marathon. Once you've achieved a Marathon you simply have to achieve even more......But I won't ask you to sponsor me again - you've already done enough. Thank you all. Jeff You can email me at cassapi.com