Hi!

Brighton Marathon - 10th April 2011 

Last year I finished my first marathon in Loch Ness (see picture), and it was so completely knackering that I fancy doing another! This time it will be in Brighton so although there's less chance of seeing the Loch Ness monster it should be a little warmer.

Loch Ness marathon time: 3h25m50s (255th out of 2495) ... extremely pleased with this but hoping to do maybe a little bit better in brighton!

Training Update - 5th April 2011

Only 5 days to go until the marathon and it is time for probably a final update before the big day! Since my last post I've continued to do 2 or 3 short to medium distance runs a week. The last run was on Sunday, one week before the marathon, only 9 miles but I felt good afterwards.

I would feel more comfortable going into the marathon with a 15-20 mile run under my belt, but it is too late now and I am not going to get any fitter. Between now and Sunday I will be sure to eat well and regularly, and make sure I know what gear I will be wearing on the day, preferably trying a short run in it beforehand.

The weather forecast is looking warm and sunny for Sunday! Very happy to hear this :) But the temperature may come as a shock after training in the cold winter, it will be important to keep remain hydrated by taking in water regularly around the course.

I've been blown away by the generosity of people, and their confidence in me in completing the run! I'm well over halfway to my target for Greenpeace so can focus on the physical aspect of the challenge now and then try to meet the target again after the race is over. Thank you to everyone that has donated so far.

Keep on running!

Laurence

Training Update - 9th March 2011

Oh no, only a month to go! I've got yet another cold annoyingly, so I'm not training hard at the moment, just gentle hour-long runs 2 or 3 times a week.  Hopefully it'll clear up in time to get some long runs in before I need to start tapering and kicking back before the big run itself.

On the plus side, I've no physical problems to complain of, and I'm feeling in pretty good shape. Have looked at marathon route on website and it looks fun! It's completely different to Loch Ness, which was a straight line from A to B; the Brighton route winds and meanders all over the place, from Ovingdean in the east to Shoreham Power station in the west!

Final Update - 21st April 2011

About the charity

You've come to this page to hopefully donate a few of your hard-earned pennies to Greenpeace, so let me explain a bit about why I'm running for them. For the last few years, I've been campaigning for Greenpeace on the oceans, on rainforests and on drilling for oil. I think they do an amazing job in bearing witness to the damage we are doing to the earth, raising awareness in the general public and putting pressure on businesses and governments to change policy.

Obviously Greenpeace relies on the funds of supporters and other donations to maintain this work. I'm hoping to raise some money for them as I take part in the Brighton Marathon. Although running 26 miles is a great personal achievement for me, knowing that I'm doing something for the planet too will give me a lot more determination.

So a big thank you for your support!

Laurence xx

p.s. I'm needing some good running tunes to get me through the long training runs, please comment your suggested fave running song!