So. it's London Marathon time once again. 26.2 miles of emotion and many more hours of training to get me there.

I have so many people to thank. Jonathan (Our MD and a great friend), for setting me on the fitness journey, way back in December 2005 by way of a fitness test at Wellness International. My family and friends, for supporting my quest The bloggers at Realbuzz.com for making me laugh, cry and generally inspiring (and ribbing) me and all the great people who have sponsored my efforts over the last three years.

My greatest thanks must be saved for Nightingale House Hospice who looked after my father and then two years later, my mother. The care and support they offer, resulted in my parents having a far better quality of life than could ever otherwise have been achieved in those last few precious months of their lives. The care in balancing out and refining their medication allowed my mum and dad to spend much more time in their own home than ever would have been the case. They also ensured that when staying at the hospice, their every need and whim was catered for.

So it is now my turn once again to do just a little bit to give something back to them. It's a selfish quest that sees me get fitter, hopefully achieve some goals and feel good that people may be inspired and kind enough to support our local hospice.

For details of my training progress and random thoughts etc you can visit http://www.realbuzz.com/blogs/u/Dim/from-good-for-nothing-to-good-for-age-hopefu/

UPDATE - I managed to complete the event in 3:36:10 and had an enjoyable (though tough at times) run, achieving a placing of 4716 out of 35,306. I'm happy with that but I have much work to do if I ever want to achieve a time of sub 3:15:00 which would entitle me to a Good For Age entry to a future London Marathon.

Now the formal bit written by justgiving.com:

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Nightingale House Hospice gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!