What a day.

My original target was 4 hours, but due to a knee injury 3 weeks ago, and the heat (hottest marathon ever ), I realised that this wasn’t going to happen.

I managed to sneak to the front start pen, which meant I was one of the first over the start line. I started of at about 7 - 8 minuet miles, which was good going

Just past the Cutty Sark at the 7th mile, I took a nasty fall and damaged one of my toes & cut all my hands open This slowed my down slightly, taking a lot of energy to run through the pain. At this point I saw my folks cheering at the side of the road.


At about 9 miles, my knees started to hurt, so I had to slow down a little again. I got to the half way point and I was only about 10 minuets behind schedule, but then my knees really started to hurt & I could hardly walk, let alone run

I knew the rest of my family were 2 miles away waiting for me at Canary Warf, so I decided if I was going to finish I had to run, so picked my feet up and carried on running. I saw them at Canary Warf, and it really motivated me to run through the pain.
I had to stop a few more times to have ice on my knees and have a quick massage to loosen the mussels causing the problems.

Along the embankment was long, and very slow due to the pain, but the crowd really support you, especially when they see you struggling with the pain


Then it was through Westminster and along Birdcage walk, next to Buck palace. At the start of Birdcage Walk was the MS Society building, where there was about 50 MS supporters looking out for the MS runners, the cheer when I ran past was absolutely amazing. I was hobbling at this point, but I was determined to run as fast as I could for the last half a mile.

When I got the finish line my time was recorded at 4 hours, 55 minuets and 22 seconds. A lot of people were surprised at how good I looked for my first marathon, considering the heat and my knee pains. I then saw my folks at the finish, they were in tears - It was very emotional. Then I was lucky enough to have a massage by 3 young ladies in the post race reception

The saddest thing of all was that because of the Multiple Sclerosis, my dad was more exhausted than I was, and he got the train


Thanks again for all your sponsors, and all your support, that’s what got me round the 26 miles

Rich

 

Last year my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis - an un-curable condition that causes damage to myelin - a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system.  This in turn causes interference to the messages going between the brain and parts of the body.

For some people, MS is characterised by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern. For everyone, it makes life unpredictable, and is deeply upsetting to see.

 

I have decided to run the 26.2 miles of the London Marathon to raise money for the work & research the MS Society do.  Thats 26 miles of constant pounding against the hard streets of London.  I would be so grateful if you could sponsor me for this extremely daunting task. 
My fund raising target is £2000.  Every single pound helps, so I am so grateful for even the smallest sponsors of just a few pounds.  If you are a UK taxpayer, the government will add an extra 28% to your gift, at no cost to you.

Not only is this a physical challenge, but also an extreme mental & emotional challenge.  And not forgetting the months and months of training and hard work in preparation.
 

Here is an idea of what the money I raise can buy:
£10 could pay for an information pack for someone newly diagnosed.

£20 could pay for 1 hour of educational training.

£50 could pay for the materials needed for one MRI scanner.

£75 could pay for a home visit by welfare officer.

£100 could pay for 1 hour of medical research.

£200 could pay for a mobility aid

£500 could go towards the cost of a young carers project

£1000 could go towards the costs of induction & training of an MS Nurse

£2000 could pay for the costs for a help line officer for one month

Multiple Sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting young adults. Around 85,000 people in the UK have MS.

Thank you so much in advance.

Richard