Update: Mon 27th April

I just want to say thank you to everyone who made a donation and sponsored me, it has been greatly appreciated by WellChild and myself, and gave me extra motivation to get round!

The marathon itself was tough, especially as it was a fair bit warmer that I would have liked, but thankfully I managed to get round without stopping (or worse still collapsing like the 6 or so runners I saw getting oxygen and medial attention) and eventually finished in 3hr 27min.  So, that makes me 17 minutes slower than Nell McAndrew but 31 mins faster than Iwan Thomas, 48 mins faster than Ronan Keating and 3 hr 44min faster than "Jordan" and Peter Andre.

Thanks again for all your support...

On Sunday April 26th I will be running my first (and probably last!) marathon - I will be doing this on behalf of WellChild.  As a parent, I have chosen to support WellChild because they provide care to sick children living at home, as well as invaluable support to their families and research into children's health research.  A key objective is to get as many children as possible back home while reducing hospital re-admissions. 

In terms of what I will be putting myself through to complete the marathon:

- Every step you take (and there will be approximately 45,000 of them!) is the equivalent force of 2-3 bodyweights, and it's estimated you'll finish the race two centimetres shorter than you were at the start.

- An above average runner doing a three-hour marathon could expect to lose 3-5 kilograms of weight. For every kilogram you lose, you need to drink 1.5 litres of water to replace it.

- People not used to running long distances can have trouble walking properly for several days after a marathon due to muscle soreness (anyone got a Stannah stair lift I can borrow?).

So you generous people, please do support me on my foolish endeavour with the added benefit of helping sick children in the UK.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: WellChild gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!