UPDATE:

Thank you so much for sponsoring me. I had an amazing day on 25 th April and with giftaid have raised over £4000 for my charity, the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation.

I'd never run further than 18 miles before so it is a big step up to turn up at the start and believe you can run over 26 miles. However,  my brother and I managed to meet up at the start and ran together all the way finishing in a respectable 4 hours 20 minutes. As my brother decided to slow himself down by dressing up as Carmen Miranda - see finish photo - he attracted a massive amount of attention from the spectators all the way round and by the time we reached the Embankment I was nearly deafened from people shouting either his name,  Carmen or, from a few people confused by his look , "fruit salad man".

At one point when I was slowing down  my brother  told me to keep running as I still had to earn another £800 - having your donations and kind messages  was very motivating and  improved the whole experience for me.

So thank you again.  

 

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The charity I'm supporting and which I'm hoping you will support  is the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation which I've chosen as my dad is being treated for prostate cancer. The charity funds research into all aspects of prostate cancer -  this cancer accounts for 17% of all UK cancer cases. But my dad's treatment is going well.

As most of my friends will know I never ran anywhere until I did my first 5k race 5 years ago -   with only five weeks to go to the marathon it still sounds like a really long way. I read today it has been the worst winter weather for thirty years and having been out in ice, snow and rain I can personally confirm that. I did a half marathon in Bath on 7 March, went ok despite the chilly wind but can't believe I'm planning to double that up in a few weeks.

So please donate now.

As the great man says Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. But I think the pain will be less painful if I can run thinking I have raised a whole load of money for such a good and under-funded cause.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure.  Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.