Well, thanks to your help, the London Marathon is in the bag.

This "athlete" stumbled over the finish line in 4hrs,21mins - just 2hrs,6mins behind Paula Radcliffe. And in the process £1,104.86 was raised for Leonard Cheshire (details above).

Here's a few examples of how your money will be spent:

* £50 pays for a modem for a Leonard Cheshire Day Centre, giving disable people access to the internet
* £100 buys a speech amplifier allowing someone with speech difficulties to be heard clearly
* £250 pays for training for a Leonard Cheshire worker supporting disabled kids in Africa
* £500 provides a specially designed adjustable bed enabling a resident to get in and out of bed easily

On a personal note, I also want to say how much your support and good luck messages have meant to me: they've been overwhelming. I've wanted to have a bash at the Marathon for years - and, at the risk of sounding like a luvvy at the Oscars, I couldn't have done it without you.

In the immortal words of Sir Edmund Hillary on completing a slightly tougher challenge 50 years ago this spring, "We've knocked the bastard off."

Thanks a million! Si