There's nothing quite like the second day after the marathon.

By now the muscle soreness reaches it's peak and getting around (especially down stairs) becomes a real challenge.

I just wanted to send you all a very quick note, to thank you all again for the wonderfull generosity, plus report back on what was truly fabulous experience for me. I wouldn't have experienced that, without your support.

Despite the heat, I really exceeded my expectations on the day. The significant volume of training that I had banked, meant that I could dip fairly heavily into the physical overdraft, I had worked hard to create. Having set myself an objective of 3hrs 45mins, I actually managed 3hrs 43mins, which sets a new personal best for me by about 10 mins. For any other 'running bores', my pace was steady at about 8mins, 20, per mile till things started to go a bit wobbly at about mile 22. From then on, it was just a slog to keep moving forward without stopping. From this point, I lumbered on at about 9 min per mile.

For those that haven't seen any press coverage, the day ended up being much warmer than anticipated (a bit reminiscent of 2007's marathon, my first, where I struggled to do a 4hrs 12) and I recall passing Gordon Ramsay (that lightweight) again at around mile 20. The crowd support was electric and there was a good many friends and family dotted around the course to help spur me on. Their presence really did add a massive boost.

More importantly, the charity total for Get Kids Going stands at a whopping £2,700, which way and above exceeds my target and anticipated level of sponsorship.

Thanks you all, for making that incredible day a reality.

That's it for my charity efforts for 09. I have a place for the Berlin marathon in September this year and am starting to look at training plans that could perceivably see me complete a 3hr 30...something (training that will start, once I can walk a little better)!

Thanks again