WE DID IT!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for helping us smash through our sponsorship target - knowing that we had achieved this for such a small charity made all the difference on the day.

We'll keep it brief but basically Paul finished in 4hr 48 and Alex in 5hr 49.

We both had high and low points along the route so here's a rundown of these:

Alex:

High Points

Overtaking Jordan and Peter Andre early doors

Seeing my friends and family at miles 11,19 and 23 (thanks for the Mars bars, cokes and hot cross buns!)

The crowd support at every stage

Finally stepping foot in Canary Wharf after all these years - and what a cool way to do it!

Managing a sprint finish at the last!

Low Points

Not being able to speak to my friends and family at mile 23 as they ran out of water at the water station at mile 22!

Becoming a backmarker in a race of 35,000 people as had to queue for 1 of only 4 portaloos at mile 1!

Paul:

High Points

Fantastic crowd support

Lovely weather (for spectators!)

The Priest throwing holy water at the runners, around 2 miles

Overtaking 3 rhinos, 1 banana, 2 Bananamen and 2 blokes running in g-strings!

Low Points

Feeling sick (most of the last 10 miles!)

Walking half of the last four miles

Receiving another extra large marathon t-shirt!

Thanks again for your support - you never know we might be tempted to run another!

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THE FINAL COUNTDOWN (April 09)

Paul successfully negotiated the Kingston 16 miler on the first Sunday of April while there were no days off for Alex as she completed a long but rewarding 18 miler on Easter Sunday.

So ....... we know you'll be desperate to see us in the flesh on Sunday. We can thoroughly recommend the London Marathon website - http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/ - which gives a run down on the race route including best locations for music, beer and cheering on the runners.

Here's a run down on our estimated times at some possible vantage points. The race starts at 0945 but we have assumed it will take us 10-15 minutes to get to the start line!

                                                          Paul                  Alex

Mile 6.5 (Cutty Sark)                   

1100 - 1110    1120 - 1130

Mile 12.5 (Tower Bridge)            

1155 - 1215    1225 - 1245

Mile 19 (Canary Wharf)              

1300 - 1320    1340 - 1400

Mile 22.5 (St Katherine's Dock)

1335 - 1355    1420 - 1450

Paul will be running in black shorts, a mainly white top with 'PAUL' on the front - (how novel!) and a dark cap.  Alex will be wearing black and a splash of turquoise (hopefully in the form of a tutu).

We'll aim to be running on the right hand side of the road so if you intend to shout, clap, feed or water us on route, that would be the best place to stand!

We will of course update you on how we do from Monday 27th onwards - thanks again for all your support and wish us luck!

Alex and Paul

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THAILAND, TIGNES (AND TOENAILS) UPDATE ... (March 09)

Well, you've been dying to hear about our progress I'm sure, but first the travel report!

Alex enjoyed a great trip across Thailand late February and the first half of March while Paul skied the light fantastic in the French alps. Both fitted in a bit of training along the way, Alex treading the beach while Paul avoided the apres ski one day and topped up his high altitude training (in readiness for the Thames!).

Both now on home soil and the next big target was the Reading Half Marathon. Not best timed (the morning after the clocks went forward!) but two great times - Alex completing in under 2hr 24min (Despite some toenail problems!) and Paul breaking the 2hr barrier (just) in sprinting through the Madejski Stadium.

Now prepping for our final long runs before we launch ourselves into that bit of the training that every marathon runner enjoys - tapering!

Next update will be in the week before the marathon, with detailed instructions on where you can see us on route and what food and drink we will nick off you on the way round!

Thanks again for all your support and if you haven't already, please dip into your pockets for this great cause!

Paul and Alex

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WE ARE RUNNING THE LONDON   MARATHON 2009 FOR HOPE 4 CHILDREN - Thank you for coming this far and reading our page – we hope you will also take a few moments to sponsor us to help us reach our BIG fundraising target for our chosen charity.

Our Charity - HOPE is an international children’s charity working with disabled, orphaned and exploited children in thirty countries worldwide. The majority of their work is in Africa and Asia although they also work in Europe, including the UK. HOPE was set up specifically to help the most needy in grassroots-level projects.

Examples of HOPE’s work include providing prosthetic limbs to children disabled by landmines in Sri Lanka, special equipment for disabled children in the UK and funding for street children centres in Zambia, India, Zimbabwe and the Philippines. For inspiration and further information please visit their website www.hope-for-children.org.

Oh and Us - Paul is somewhat of a seasoned pro having completed the Berlin Marathon last year whilst Alex is definitely a novice and an outsider if we were talking racing terms! We’re both the wrong side of 30 of course and obviously have far too much spare time on our hands!  Together, we hope to fulfil our ambitions and complete the London Marathon.

Training is already well underway.  From now until the big day we will update this page to keep you informed of our progress. We’ll give updates on our gruelling training regimes and where you can see us/cheer us on, or generally laugh at us on the big day.

Donating - Please do raid your money jars, dig deep and help us to raise the whopping £2,400 required (although this is between the 2 of us!)

We have a big target and we know these are difficult times for people so please give whatever you can.

If we can reach our target we’re sure it will spur us on to cross the finish line when everything else physically and mentally is telling us to give up.

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

THANK YOU VERY MUCH and please pass onto anyone you know who may want to contribute / come and watch us on 26^th April.

Paul and Alex