I DID IT!!!!!!! All 26.2 MILES!!!!!! I'd only done 13.1 miles as my longest run so knew it would be difficult. At 7 miles I felt fine but thought I better introduce short spells of walking ... just in case. By mile 14 as I anticipated ball of right foot started to get painful. Then came tightening of muscle behind ...left knee which then affected left achilles. Miles 14 to 19 seemed like an eternity with 3 stops to stretch left leg and a quick chat with St John's Ambulance to check if I should do anything else. Last thing I wanted to do was pull that knee muscle and not be able to finish. At mile 23 spotted my brother, Brian, ran over and promptly burst into tears. Into Blackfriars tunnel, another quick stretch. Weather fine as we entered. Came out the other end to dark grey skies, light rain and wind getting up. Running along embankment wind getting harder blowing leaves and blossoms off the trees and into the face of runners. Rounded the corner at Big Ben to be met by gale force wind and cold heavy rain thinking "what am I doing?!". Held it together and made sure I ran the last bit down The Mall to the finish line. Yippee!!! Picked up some messages from family saying they'd seen me finish on TV and welled up. Saw Peter after I finished and then balled my eyes out again. What an amazing experience ... the crowds were fantastic, jazz bands, steel bands, pipe bands, drum beats, pubs belting out music, old gals drunk as skunks belting out "Show Me The Way to Amarillo"?! on the Isle of Dogs, the Cutty Sark, the runners ... senior ladies Jean doing her 41st marathon and Rena doing her 15th, one guy doing another 2 marathons back to back next month, Spencer dressed in a huge plastic rhino costume ... to name just a few.

I had 3 goals (1) complete it (2) raise money for Alzheimer's (3) improve my health/lose some weight.

Finish time 5:46:48
Money raised to date £9148.44 + further £300 for completing Bath Half Marathon
Weight lost since January 2011 2 stones

A fitting tribute, I hope, to my wonderful Mum whose photo I carried with me. I think I can safely say I'm pretty pleased with all of that!!!

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Training with my buddy Lisa Ward for the London Marathon has been a definite "life experience". It's not until you embark upon something like this that you realise just how huge the task is in terms of time commitment let alone physical endurance. My starting point 9 months ago was thinking myself (and being told by my husband!) that I could never do it, then taking the plunge and submitting an application to Alzheimer's Society and, once offered one of their precious 62 London Marathon places, then came the realisation that I would now have to see this thing through!

Lisa and I have had many laughs, injuries, ailments and "strategy talks" over more than a few lattes along the way. We started off with our first proper "race" back in July 2011. A 10km run in Beale Park which we both completed, much to our amazement and delight. I woke up the next morning, stiff as a poker, with an achy left knee. We did our own thing over the summer and re-grouped in September both of us suffering with knee problems. As a result training didn't start in earnest until after October half term when we employed the help of our personal trainer, Kyle Andrews (www.greenboxcoaching.co.uk). Kyle puts us through our paces weekly at Wren's Health Club on Eton Bridge where he makes us endure the pain of cross-training while watching Jeremy Kyle! There have been the inevitable succession of setbacks .... from minor ops to busted quadriceps and a first experience of sports massage that will never be repeated as long as I live!

But .... I can't believe that here I am 9 months later, nearly a Half Marathon into my training (only another 13+ miles to go .... ouch?!), and setting up my Justgiving page.

I'm running the London Marathon in memory of my mum who suffered for 13 years with Alzheimer's, the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer's affects around 465,000 people in the UK. During the course of the disease, protein 'plaques' and 'tangles' develop in the structure of the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. Gradually, over time, more parts of the brain are damaged. As this happens, the symptoms become more severe.

Mum went from being a strong, outgoing, gregarious, fun-loving, independent woman who lived for her family to an empty shell who didn't recognise any of us. She started off being a bit forgetful, then became suspicious of all those around her, hiding things and sneaking off when she thought no one was looking or when Dad was asleep resulting in him walking the streets to find her. Living with and coping with Alzheimer's was tough with many tears and frustrations for Mum and all of the family. And so, there were times when we did have to stop and just accept the humour in some situations. Like the time my sister, sister-in-law and I took mum into a department store changing room to try on some clothes. Mum didn't recognise herself or us in the mirror and kept asking "why are those people looking at us?". She then embarked on a full-blown conversation with "herself", telling jokes and we all (those "other people" included) ended up crying with laughter behind the changing room curtains. God knows what the shop assistants thought we were up to!

I want to play my part in raising money to help The Alzheimer's Society improve the lives of people with dementia, and their carers. Through its helpline and outreach workers, it gives vital support to sufferers; it also campaigns for their rights and welfare and backs crucial research.

An estimated 700,000 people in the UK have dementia, of which Alzheimer's is the most common form. Recent articles in the media suggest that in the UK we are sitting on a "dementia timebomb" with many suffering from dementia but not yet diagnosed. One in three people over 65 will die with it - and yet it remains the Cinderella of British health care. While fashionable illnesses receive generous resources, Alzheimer's struggles for funds.

Your money will help people who

- feel sad or scared and frustrated by their increasing memory loss

- become withdrawn due either to a loss of confidence or to communication problems

- have difficulty carrying out everyday activities - they may get muddled checking their change at the shops or become unsure how to work the TV remote.

£50 could pay for a PhD researcher for a day to continue vital research into understanding the causes of dementia

£100 could pay for a brain scan for a participant in a clinical trial to help improve diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

£200 could help run one session of Singing for The Brain, an activity that involves structured singing, gentle exercise with an emphasis on enjoyment and participation.

£400 could pay for one person with dementia to be supported by the Society's Dementia Adviser service, helping them to understand the dementia diagnosis and what this may mean for them and their family.

£1500 could pay for the running of a Dementia Cafe for one week

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. 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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Under Gift Aid, the HM Revenue and Customs will usually top up every £1 given to Alzheimer's Society with 28p. So that's an extra £280 for every £1000 donated with no extra expense to anyone who donates who is a UK taxpayer and has paid an equal amount in income or capital gains tax. This means, for Alzheimer's to claim £2.80 on a £10 donation, the donor sponsor must have paid at least £2.80 in tax. PLEASE, PLEASE tick the Gift Aid box, if you are eligible.

So please dig deep and donate now. I really do appreciate every penny that you donate. Thank you so much for all your support.