----------------------------------STOP PRESS------------------------------------
Hampshire Team Defeats World Record Holder

Popplewell/Du Sautoy 5:34:41

Covell / Some Time Later

Haile Gebrselassie DNF

Thanks for all your Support

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right then.Alex P here.

[NB do click on read more below or you will miss the sweepstake]

This is marathon number 7 for me and I'm doing it to raise more money for the fabulous folks at Macmillan Cancer Support.You probably don't need me to tell you what a good job they do to support people with cancer and their loved ones.If you do need more info,click on the link to the left...

This bit is where we motivate you to donate.There are really only about two things to say:

One: if you were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow,who would you call? While the research guys do a great and necessary job,I bet you'd be thinking less about long term work on prevention and cure and more about what does this mean in terms of the practical side : information,treatment options,outcomes and care for me and how will my family cope.That's where Macmillan comes in.They need the money to deal with the realities of your life with cancer.They have done amazing things for several friends of ours and their families-we all have a story,but these guys are efficient and effective, as well as organising a great team of runners.So pay up,we all know that we,or someone we love,could be next.

Second,I am running so you don't have to.Even at my tender age,running 26.2 miles is quite an effort and is involving me in two rather distracting things-a large amount of training,and a slightly smaller amount of abstinence from (some of) the things I enjoy a great deal ,such as the long lunch and the claret bottle.

In order to get this show on the road,I have enlisted the help of the most sociable types in Hampshire to accompany me to NYC:Mr Alex Covell,and Her Honour Judge Angela Du Sautoy (who,I can promise is not one of the Big Boys alluded to in the title-honest).We plan to talk quite a bit on the way round,and be finished in time for the aforementoned Long Lunch.There will i expect be benefits-I was weighed in at 234 lbs at Xmas-i'm not very proud of that,and I have slimmed to a svelte 224 now (mid April) I am optimistic that with a bit of effort,i  can get below 210 by the time the race comes around in November.[Stop Press 215 as at Oct 11] Alex C has a bit more to do...

Wish us luck,and get your chequebooks out...And there's a bottle of Cos D'estournel 1990,worth £130 for the guess closest to my finishing time-specify below to the second.that's open to over £50 donors only...