Phew, how hard was that?  The good news is i managed to complete the hottest London Marathon ever dressed as St George (Thanks to Helen who was still stitching away on Saturday night and Yasmin for helping me into it at the start!).  The heat was unbelievable but if anything, the outfit actually protected me a little as i was completely covered up. I finished in 5 hours and 3 minutes, which is over an hour outside my fastest time.  However, I have taken more satisfaction from this race than any other I have run in.  Well done also to Mum, Lynsey and yasmin for managing to follow me round the course, which in itself was an achievement!

Thanks again if you have sponsored me already.  If you haven't yet, there is still time to do so!

Cheers,

Marc

***UPDATE - £1000 donated from Simon Thunder and the FA Premier League***

Ok, I promised after last year that I would never run a marathon again, but I'm sorry to say that we still have an awful lot of sick kids passing through our hospitals, so the trainers are being dusted off once more.

I'm going to up the stakes a little this year and attempt my first marathon in fancy dress.  Last Summer, I was lucky enough to head out to the World Cup with my friends Chris, Simon and Matt (thanks again Chris) and to get into the spirit of things, we donned the St George outfits you can see in the picture.  It was great fun, if not VERY hot.  I still have the outfit at home and seeing as this years marathon falls the day before St Georges day, I thought it might be an idea to run in it!  Make no mistake, this outfit is cheap and subsequentally very unpleasant to wear for an hour, let alone whilst running 26 miles!

If that isn't enough to get you to support our childrens Critical Care Appeal, maybe this will help:

Our Children’s Hospital, based at the Royal London, is in constant 24-hour demand.   As London ’s largest dedicated paediatric A&E, we treat over 30,000 young patients each year – a school-full of children each week. They arrive by helicopter, ambulance or are brought in by their parents, urgently in need of high quality medical care. However, at times, our children’s A&E can be a daunting place – noisy and often full of people. Our plans are to transform it into a child-friendly, calming environment, serviced by state-of-the-art equipment.

The current appeal aims to raise £360,000 to assist improvements to the paediatric A&E and to safeguard the expansion of the new High Dependency unit.  In laymans terms, if you can help me reach my target of £1250, we could purchase 5 new drip stands, which are essential pieces of equipment within the HDU.

If you're still reading this, thank you! I appreciate you may be one of many who have sponsored me so many times over the years, but please don't look at this as being a chore.  Every penny you can spare will help us to deliver a better service to some of the sickest children in London.  If you can't afford to sponsor me, please consider whether your company can offer a gift or service that I can use to help reach our target.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The hospital will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. That means a £1 donation becomes £1.28 automatically and with no extra effort on your part.

Thank you again and do please pass this page on to your friends if you feel they can help me reach my target. www.justgiving.com/stgeorge

Cheers

Marc