UPDATE 1st  October 2021

And now my son has tested positive, LFT and PCR.  10 days isolation for him, poor lad (though he's feeling fine) and yet another marathon postponement for me.  I'm testing clear and no symptoms but it's not responsible to run.  Also we need all hands on deck down here to juggle one kid's isolation and two other kids' un-isolation.  Still, this gives me time to get back to Peak Condition for another tilt at the summit in 2022.  Will be cheering on Team GOSH from the sofa.

UPDATE 28th September 2021

Right, so obviously A Great Deal has happened since my last update, when I ran the postponed London Marathon in my garden.  We had Covid I and I got injured, then came Covid II and London got delayed another year so I ran a different marathon instead, then we had the fun of Covid III, during which I started training for London 2021.  12 weeks into my 18 week training I got injured again, properly this time (don't run on a hangover) so I called it off.  Then I called it on again and so now I'm here.  Sparks has become GOSH, because they always were the same sort of thing and now they Officially Are.  I haven't done a massive fundraising drive because it was on-again-off-again and also because almost Everyone I Know In The Entire World sponsored me for the garden marathon in April 2020.  But I'm here anyway, and doing it anyway, and fulfilling my obligation to the charity and to those who have sponsored me.  And if any of you is thinking, hey its been 18 months and I feel an urge to sponsor a second time, then please don't let me stop you.  Or maybe wait until I'm done and you can see if I've hit my sub-4hr target, and maybe sponsor me then if I have.  Or even if I haven't.  Or not.  As you will.  Anyway, for last year and this year and everything before and since, thank you.    

UPDATE 27th APRIL 2020

All done!  Lots of photos and videos on facebook.  Incredible day and about a 4hr running time.  Bring on October!  Thank you so much for all your support.  

UPDATE 23rd APRIL 2020

Thank you to everyone who is donating, this is an amazing response and annoyingly leaves me no room to back out.  If you would rather remain Anonymous to the public then please do drop me a quick line or message to let me know you have donated so I can thank you in person (and stop pestering you).  Otherwise there is no way of me finding out who has given what.  This applies retrospectively to the two anonymouses who have donated £30 and £200 today.  Thank you x

COVID UPDATE APRIL 2020

We all know the London Marathon, scheduled for Sunday 26th April, has been postponed to October.  Inspired by - but in no way comparing myself to - Captain Tom and others, I've decided I'm going to run a marathon anyway on that day, and in the spirit of #stayathome I'm going to run it in my garden.   

I'm lucky enough to be able to squeeze in a 200m loop, around a barn and past the trampoline, so 210 of those should see me home.  I was aiming for 3:30 in the real thing but I'd be thrilled with 4:00 on those sharp turns.  I'm planning to set off at 7:30am so hope to be done by 11:30am.  If any of you who live locally want to reroute your daily walk via our garden (we're at the bottom of Middle Hill) and feel like safely supporting from beyond the garden fence then I'd love to see you.

Charities are having a tough time at the moment, so please do consider chucking a few quid at the marvellous Sparks - the research charity of GOSH.  You are allowed to donate more than once. 

Original post follows.  And yes I'm still going to run London in October.  And yes I will probably pester you again then.

Thank you and stay safe.  xxx

ORIGINAL POST

I am taking on the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon to raise vital funds for Sparks, a charity that funds pioneering research across the UK helping to find new treatments and cures for children and families who desperately need them.

My nephew Arlo has stage 4 kidney disease and has been under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital for the last three years.  The care he has received from the nephrology and urology departments has been second to none.  I would like to repay their kindness by supporting Sparks, the GOSH research charity.

I ran the marathon in 2003 as a sprightly 28 year-old.  I didn't train as much as I could have and limped to a 4:20 time.  Given that my dad ran it in 3:04 as a forty year-old, I felt that I could do better.  So I'm giving myself a second shot and taking my training more seriously this time.  I'm aiming for sub 4.00, will be thrilled with 3.45, and someone somewhere thinks I have an outside shot at 3.30.  

Please feel free to make your donations contingent on me hitting any of these targets, to motivate me on the day.