WE (and I do mean We) DID IT!

Thank you to everyone for your support. The best news is that 650 runners  raised over $1.5 million for Tadworth -- and, thanks to all of you, I was the top fundraiser. So far, we've raised over £11,000, including company matches (don't forget to put in for yours).  And IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO DONATE IF YOU DIDN'T GET A CHANCE!

My time was about 4:42 (10:47 pace) that was exactly 6 minutes slower than the overall winner. Oh yeah, that's per mile! It was (much) slower than I expected -- and much slower than my long training runs (9:25 for the two 20 milers I did and sub 9s for 15 and 17). I could blame jet lag, a too-aggressive taper the last two weeks or the heat, but I'll have to settle for my starting position at the back of the pack. With over 35,000 people running (and walking), it was difficult to run my faster than I did.

But, I didn't stress and instead tried to enjoy it. I got to run with several of the more than 650 people who were running for Tadworth. I also ran at points with Spiderman, Wonderwoman, a tree, a fish, a chicken, a rhino, an alien, a 73-year old woman running her 41st marathon, a couple that got married at mile 20 (wearing a tux and gown while running), two "ladies" from Baywatch and a guy in a g-string.  I also got to stop and see the kids and Tina twice, which was awesome.

At about 24 miles, I gave it a good go and really enjoyed the crowd yelling my name, since I was the only one at that point who was aggressively passing people. It was a great crowd -- and it was a lot of fun! I bounced back fast -- not too sore. We even did some site seeing the next day.

I entered the lottery for next year, but we'll see . . .