Thank you for making my 13^th marathon a great one!

·       I lost the 13kg by 7 April…

·       I did the half marathon in 1:42:27…

·       Judgement day arrived…

·       So did the rain and hail…

I survived – beating my own forecast of 3:55 and achieving 3:52:52 - see photo on this page.

What a great day and such a brilliant atmosphere.  Thanks to those of you donated and those who turned up to support.

Now the work begins – can I beat my best ever time official time 3:39:30 (from 1985 – well actually 3:34:30 from my watch) by June 2010?  I will let you know…

If you have not sponsored me, please consider doing so as you will help to save lives!

Thanks,

Sanjeev

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Medic Alert Foundation British Isles And Ireland will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Lucky 13th Marathon for MedicAlert

I am all set to run the London marathon on 13 April, raising money for MedicAlert. My coach, Keith Anderson (well, I need all the help I can get) says I am deceptively fast (i.e. if you lose weight, you will be faster).

I took part in my first London marathon in 1985, with a personal best time of 3 hours and 39 minutes, having already run my first marathon – Derby - in 1983 at the age of 17 with a time of 4 hours and 8 minutes.  I really enjoyed the whole experience of the Derby Ramathon.  Two years later when I was at college, I thought I would give the London a go, this time raising money for charity.  I was delighted with a personal best time of just under 3 hours and 39 minutes, which included the 5 minutes to get to the start.  Again I had a coach – Martin Wallace – helping me out.

After my first London marathon in 1985, I gave long distance running a break – until I ran London in 1999 and 2000.  I was then given a chance to run the New York marathon in 2001, something I had wanted to do.  But coming so soon after the events of September 11, there was lot uncertainty surrounding the race.  New York normally has 30,000 runners, but that November there were only 25,000, although that was quite good considering the circumstances.  The spectators, especially the New Yorkers seemed more appreciative of the fact that we had made the effort to turn up.  I certainly never doubted that I would be taking part in 2001.

With my fifth marathon out of the way, I carried on and did both London and Lisbon in 2002, Cape Wrath and New York in 2003, London again in 2004 and 2005 – the 25^th Anniversary of the London marathon and Rotterdam in 2006, making a total of twelve marathons to date.

My favourite part of the marathon, aside from the finish, is usually when I am looking out for food – jellybeans, wine gums – in the crowds.  I tend to get hungry at about 16-18 miles and because I am a heavy runner I burn off around 125 calories a mile.  There is no marathon like London.  This will be my 7^th London marathon and my first for MedicAlert.  I am really looking forward to it and raising a shed load of money.

Go ahead, make my day...please sponsor me now!

Sanjeev