19th April, 2010 (the day after): I MADE IT! In 03:58:23, position number 2,126 (out of 7,426), race number 10601. After training throughout winter in freezing conditions, sleet, snow and lashings of rain the actual marathon day in Brighton turned out to be boiling hot and sunny! What a pleasant surprise! The inaugural Brighton marathon was fantastic and the atmosphere phenomenal! Thanks goes out to my loyal and outstanding supporters who cheered me on on the day! From mile 19.5 I struggled and your support was much appreciated. My entire body is aching today and the stairs are proving to be quite a challenge but I'm sure I'll be back to normal again soon!

So - what's next....maybe a little cycling for the London to Brighton bike ride on the 20th June! xx

 

Many thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and an extra special thank you if you are supporting me for a second time following the London marathon last year (you can see how I did by visiting justgiving.com/shereehellier.

I never really planned to run another marathon after London but I guess I have now got the running bug and have found my calling! When the time to enter the London marathon came around again last November I forgot all the pain, the injuries, the lost weekends and evenings through training and just remembered the surreal feeling of completing a marathon and raising a massive amount of money for charity thanks to YOU - all my wonderful, amazing, supportive family, friends and colleagues. So, I am doing it all again AND for an extremely worthwile charity. I didn't get in to London but discovered the Brighton Marathon (www.brightonmarathon.co.uk) is taking place a week before (on the 18th April) and so decided to have a change of scenery and day out at the seaside! Along with moving house in March there went my new year's resolution of relaxing more!

I am running for Guide Dogs for the Blind Association who have been providing guide dogs to blind and partially-sited people for over 75 years, the most widely used breed for guiding is a labrador / retriever cross, but they also use other breeds, including German shepherds. I was lucky enough to be invited to an open day at one of their training centres in Essex (view photos above) and got to witness first hand the hard work, dedication and expense of training a puppy to become a guide dog that ultimately changes someone's entire life. Your donations can provide the following:

£5 could buy a puppy grooming kit

£10 could fee a guide dog for two weeks

£20 could buy a large dog bed

£60 could buy a harness, lead, collar and bell

£90 could buy an obstacle training kit

Your donations are gratefully received. To find out more about the fantastic work of Guide Dogs, please visit www.guidedogs.org.uk

I have been training 'seriously' since the 11th Jan and of course this time, being an 'experienced' athlete (lol!) I am approaching training slightly differently and am following a few new tactics in the hope that injury will not strike again! It's the first time that Brighton is playing host to a marathon and they have snuck in a few steep hills and a lot of miles along the coast - I'm praying that a gale force wind will not be blowing that day! So far so good despite a not-quite-right left leg, hopefully lots of stretching, trips to the physio and Yoga will sort that out. Do wave if you pass me on very early runs before work! 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.