Well I did it – it was undoubtedly the hardest physical challenge I have ever had, not helped by the heat. I ran (well most of the way) in 5 hours 15 minutes and even managed to sprint up to the finish line on Pall Mall which was an unforgettable experience. Despite all the training, my legs went after about 10 miles so the rest of the race was all about mind over body but the crowd and cheering was terrific and that certainly helped.

As of this morning I have managed to raise just over £23,400 which is absolutely fantastic and a massive thanks to everyone who have made very generous donations. My “stretch target (revised I accept) was £25,000 so if there anyone else who wants to donate then please feel free and don’t forget, I am due to pay 10% of what has been raised into Bowel Cancer UK.

A massive thanks to everyone who has made donations and sent good luck messages – that is what kept me going in those “dark” miles between mile 11 and 24 yesterday. I am truly grateful.

Thank you

Carl

It is now only 2 weeks away from the London Marathon and I cant believe how quickly this has come up bearing in mind I started training for this event last summer. It has been a long slog, particularly the once a week long training runs which have been to various degrees boring, very cold, very wet and exhausting. However, I am nearly at the start line and I am now in what is called “Taper” which is one of a number of Marathon buzz words which I have come to learn – “Taper” means you reduce the number of miles you are running in the 3 weeks ahead of the big day so that is a massive relief to me. I have just had 10 days in Abu Dhabi and whilst I was planning on doing my last long run around the Formula one circuit over there, it was just too hot so I settled for running 20 miles on the treadmill in an air conditioned gym ……..pretty dull and boring but I did it !!

I have been bowled over by the incredible generosity from all those friends and colleagues who have so far donated to the Guy’s and St Thomas charity I am running for. I have twice increased my target and which was £15,000 but due to your support so far, this has been exceeded so I am going to be ambitious and raise my target to £20,000. For anyone who wants to make a contribution, please do so as it is for a very good cause and please also don’t forget that whatever total I raise for Guys and St Thomas Charity, I will make a 10% personal contribution to Bowel Cancer UK. An incredibly brave and resilient Quantuma Team member, Greg Carrier, who has been suffering from this debilitating disease for the second time and when I finally tread the streets of London, it will be the thought of him which will get me across that finish line.

Carl

Dear All,

I am now just short of 7 weeks away from the big event. I wont lie to you, this has got to be the most challenging physical thing I have ever done and I have now got a whole new respect for all those marathon runners out there who are either doing this for the first time or do it regularly. It requires massive commitment and will power, as well as mental strength, particularly when you “hit the wall” as I have done on a couple of occasions when doing my long training runs. I ran 18 miles yesterday and this morning there is not one joint that doesn’t ache…………why am I doing this?? Next challenge is 20 miles next Sunday and that will be the longest training run I do ahead of the big day.

I have attached a photo of a dinosaur – whilst you can't see me, that is me underneath the costume. One of my very generous donors said they would double their donation if I ran the Marathon in fancy dress so I thought I would try this…………not a chance I am afraid and I will be just donning my normal running kit on the day.

When I set out on this journey, I thought I would be ambitious and set a donation target of £10,000. Thanks to the massive support I have had so far (and thank you so much to all of you who have donated to date), I am already over that target. So, if ever the optimist, I have re set my target at £15,000 and if anyone has a spare penny that hasn’t already donated, please give me a thought…and remember that whatever total I get to, I will be donating 10% of that sum to Bowel Cancer UK.”

Guy’s and St Thomas Charity is a wonderful organisation and the link below gives more detail on the incredible impact it has on cancer patients, young and old, every day. https://gsttcharity.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/

Carl