**UPDATE** I FINISHED THE LONDON MARATHON IN 5 HOURS 4 MINS.  THANK YOU TO  EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED ME IN SO MANY WAYS - I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU.  NOW TO DUST OFF THE  BIKES FOR PHIL AND I TO RIDE LONDON**

Last year I sustained a fractured hip whilst training for the York Marathon, where I was aiming to raise funds for the Anthony Nolan Trust. After several months on crutches and walking with a stick, I've recovered enough to make the decision that I will finish the job I started......or perhaps it will finish me!

Yes, I am mad to be doing this, yes I have met with some disapproving looks, and yes it is going to be the hardest marathon I will have run.  I really have become a beginner again and am slowly building up my distances, one step at a time!

Since beginning my training, I've also got a place in the Prudential Ride London 100 mile event in August, and have been coerced into a similar event at the end of June. I'm not a cyclist....although I do own a pair of padded shorts! 4 years ago I cycled 60 miles.....I have some work to do to do 100 miles....twice!!

No, it won't be fast, or pretty, but I am determined. My reason (other than that I have a stubborn streak) is two fold.....

In 2015, having been on the donor register since turning 18, Phil got the call that he might be a match for someone suffering from blood cancer.  Tests and medicals complete, we went to the London Clinic where Phil successfully donated his stem cells to a chap who suddenly got a new chance of life. The treatment we both got throughout the process was amazing. We both remain on the register and would donate again if we get the chance.....but I want to help cover the cost of a future donation, hence my high target.

My second reason is that my dad would be turning 70 during marathon month, were he still with us. He was my original running partner, encouraging me to put my trainers on in 1990, and running my first London Marathon with me in 1991. He too was an active supporter of the Anthony Nolan Trust raising money from his marathons during the 90's. I think of him with every race I go to, where members of his old club, Bungay Black Dogs, are out in great numbers, and I know he will be with me every step of the way, through all the cold and wet winter training runs, right to the minute I cross that finish line. 

Like I say, this will be a tough one. It is almost 30 years since my first marathon, so I'm no spring chicken....but there's just one more 26.2 distance in this old bird, I'm sure!

My employers, Barclays, will match £ for £ up to £1000....which will be a massive boost. So please dig deep, every £1 will make a difference and help save another life.

Every day, Anthony Nolan saves the lives of people with a blood cancer or blood disorder. We do this by matching incredible individuals willing to donate their stem cells to people who desperately need a lifesaving transplant. We also carry out cutting edge scientific research, fund specialist post-transplant nurses and support patients and their families through the transplant process and beyond. We won’t stop until we save the lives of everyone who needs a stem cell transplant. Every penny you donate brings us closer to that day.