The London Marathon - 26.2 miles

Wow, an incredible experience and one that I will never ever forget. David and I had run all previous races together and were about even but I knew that if he were to run a good time it wouldn't be with me so told him to kick away whenever he wanted, which was incidentally at 1 mile. The crowds were just amazing and in those crowds were my wife Nikki, son Will, my Mum and Dad, buddy Jon Stannah with his son Sam, great friend Nick Jones and his daughter Dulcie, the ladies from Naomi House Michelle and Ruth, I couldn't have asked for greater support. After 6 miles I hit a wall and it got worse from then onwards, if it wouldn't have been for that fantastic crowd, all the sweets, fruit segments and jaffa cakes I would have given up several times, probably 300,000 people were there in London and our names were shouted out all the time. At one stage at 5 miles I was running with Ronan Keating which was bizare and then an african tride, even more bizarre. The atmosphere was electric but the weather was not so good, it started with Sun, but then at 2 hours the rain and hail came down, very tough conditions. At 21 miles I knew I had just over 5 miles to go but was already at nearly 4 hours, I had to win my bet with Garry Treagust!     

That last 5 miles was a killer and I pushed myself and my body to the limit - the last 600 metres was agony - Nikki and Jon were at the 500 metres mark motivating me and then Will and Sam were at the 300 metres mark and ran alongside me in the spectators area to give me that bit extra to get over the finishing line. Sorry Garry it was a close one with the bet we had but I finished in 4 hrs, 53 mins and 45 seconds with 6 minutes to spare. I came 18,810 out of the 35,000 runners!

David Cox finished in an excellent time of 3hrs 55 seconds and Beth Whitworth came in at 4hrs 30mins, well played you two.

At the end of the race Nikki, Will, Jon and Sam rescued me. I am so grateful to them and to David Cox and Beth Whitworth who checked me out, despite losing three toe nails and a little pride it is now over and the first and last marathon is completed.              

My Lawyer Garry Treagust from Trethowans must now be thinking about wearing that Southampton Football Club shirt for the day at Trethowans, a good one for the press I think Garry, especially on cup final day!

I did fail though with both the Wain Powell bet and Wolfie's bet, sorry guys, my old codger of a body let me down!

Thank You's  

Ther are just so many, all my family, friends, work colleagues, customers advisors etc. I received over 120 text messages after the event so a sincere thank you to you all. Especially:-

My Wife Nikki and our sons Ben and Will. 

My parents David and Jill Peters and Brother Richard and sister in law Jackie, nieces Alex and Ollie and nephew Harry.

My parents in law Ran and Rose and sister and brother in law Simon and Sharon and my nieces Sophie and Gemma. 

My relations Aunty Denise, Wendy, Peter, Lynn, Julian, Katherine, Diana, Sarah and Matthew.

Peter and Norma Sleight for all their thoughts and texts of support. 

David Cox, what a star, cannot say how much you helped me David and will always be grateful. To Ann his wife who could not make it on the day due to nursing a broken ankle but for supporting us from her arm chair at home!

My mate Jon Stannah who has supported me throughout all these challlenges, has come to all three runs and has motivated me through the high's and low's and carried me back to the hotel yesterday when I had nothing left. His wife Ceri and children Sam, Sasha, Olivia, James and Beth  

Hugh Bond, quite simply the best GP anyone could hope for, he even called me last night to see how I got on, thanks Hugh.

To Mark and Jenny, as well as a substancial donation they came on Saturday morning with Champagne and Ballons. 

My good friend Bill Browne for all the publicity in the "Salisbury Journal" and "Wiltshire Society" and for being a pretty good M/C.

Buddy Mark Dobinson, Sue and Harvey, Paul Philp, the hotel crew of Suzanne Gwynn, Alan, Jon, David, Morris Steph, Andy, Jacqui, Christine, Martin, Robert, Malcolm and Heather.

Again not forgeting Chipper, Jon and Mike, all those meetings during the week at the Earl of Normanton creating a strategy for the runs and drinking copious amounts of Ale! Its so important to keep that belly button away from the backbone Chipper!  I'm now as fit as a butchers dog so watch out!

The ladies of Naomi House were also just brilliant, Michelle, Helen and Ruth, you also deserve a medal.

The final THANK YOU is to you, my Family, Friends and my work colleagues, customers and suppliers of VES who have dug so deep to make a big difference to the children of Naomi House, please don't underestimate what your donations mean to the Hospice. Again Thanks for your support because without you we achieve nothing.  

Races Over:-

The Great South Run, 10 miles in 1 Hour, 29 mins and 45 seconds!

Blackmore Vale Half Marathon, 13.2 miles in 1 Hour, 45 mins and 58 seconds.

Flora London Marathon, 26.2 miles, 4hrs, 53 mins and 45 seconds.

The £16,000 for Naomi House has been raised.

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: Naomi House Children’s Hospice (Wessex Children's Hospice Trust) 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.

Many thanks for your support.

John   

Offline Donations by:-  

Mark and Jenny Lucas - £500 - Such special friends, thank you so much, I know how concerned you are about my sore knees mate! John xx

THE SPRING BALL - £7615.01 - Thank you to my wife Nikki and friend Sue for organising such a great event. Also thanks to everyone who gave prizes and spent money on the evening.

Grant and Sarah Holden £50 - Many thanks Grant and Sarah. John xx

Lynn Delbeke £20 and another £20  - So many thanks Aunty Lynn xx

Ray Redfern £50 - Many thanks Ray

Batty and John Fenston £150 - Thanks Guys. John xx

Denise Delbeke - £200 for the London Marathon to go with the £20, to go with the £50 donated earlier. So, So many thanks Aunty Denise. John xx

Roger and Jackie Matson £20 - Many thanks. John x