It was hot, it was tough, but I braved 26.2 miles of pain to complete the London Marathon. My time of 3:45:03 was slightly slower than I'd hoped for, but given the sweltering conditions I'm happy with my first marathon effort. 

Thanks to everyone who sponsored me - the £1,500 target was reached in the end after months of tireless scrounging by myself and others on my behalf.

As well as all those on the list below, I'd also like to thank all those who sponsored me the old-fashioned way - with cash.

Special thanks to Sian and Tom for their help with fund-raising. I doubt very much I would have reached the target without their good work.

For training tips, thanks to crazed marathon man Sam Ryall and also to Greg Herdman, who remains the Herdman family marathon record holder.

Finally, thanks to those who came to the fund-raising curry and quiz night in March and also to the staff and clients of Morfa Afan Day Centre, Port Talbot, members of the education department in Neath Port Talbot Council and the Railway Tavern women's darts team, Neath, for their generous financial backing.

Cheers, Chris