Thanks for visiting my fundraising page....an update on progress towards the big day:

5 weeks to go - Cheltenham Gold Cup and the "odd" Guinness is perfect preparation for this weeks long run on Saturday. Achieved target by running for 3.5 hours and then stopped (very suddenly...)

4 weeks to go - Experimenting with different energy foods..this week it's porridge and Red Bull....Final long run (20 miles) before 19/4 completed on Saturday.

3 weeks to go - My aim to finish in the top 100 British runners (which was looking nailed on when a week ago when there were 88 of us) is under threat with a sudden rush of entries taking the GB total to 133 and 1 welshman (who the Austrians do not recognise as British)...better news is that according to www.vienna-marathon.com not one of the 5800 entrants from 101 countries comes from Kenya. By the end of March my running for the month will total over 175 miles - surely that's enough?

2 weeks to go - tickets bought to pre-race party which is normally to eat pasta but in Austria it appears to translate as Cake Party - excellent!....30 miles for the week as I do what the book says and "taper off" to the big day.

1 week to the off - The Kenyans have joined he party, or at least one has. His name is Kosgei and he won the olympic gold medal at Sydney - in the steeplechase. My weekly e-letter from Vienna tells me that the top 2 Austrian runners are also champion steeplechasers...remembering that this involves running long distances but also jumping over fences and water am slightly concerned that I may have missed something in translation....24 miles for the week with 8 miles the longest as the taper continues. Next stop Vienna - wish me luck!

SUNDAY APRIL 19TH - DID IT!.... in 4 hours 15 mins.... weather was warm at 20 degrees....2nd half marathon at 25 mins slower than first tells a story...came 63rd amongst the GB runners....Koskei the Olympic champion failed to finish...my legs hurt!

THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED ME AND CHAIN OF HOPE.....ROBERT

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