I've finished!

I completed my last run last week (which was 6 miles and I finished it in 50 minutes). I'm now safely at home and have put my feet up and my mangled trainers in the bin!

Many thanks to everyone who has supported me during this challenge and to all those who have generously donated to this very worthy cause; thank you so much!

The money sponsored so far stands at £3700, but I'll always accept more!

Keep checking my blog for regular updates!

I've finished!

A half marathon left to do!

Which is 91 laps! I'm hoping that the weather and sea state in the Bay of Biscay will be kind enough to allow me to finish my run before we get into the English channel. We'll see though.

Over the past 2 days I've completed 9 miles, running into 35-40 knot winds and being drowned in spray from the waves. I'm 5 miles ahead and am very much looking forward to running on dry land!

Marathon photos.

The (early) start.














More minders than Madonna!























The last lap (notice the camber of the deck and the incline at the end!).





The finish.






















The ice bath.

A stitch in time......................

Happens with 9 miles left to run! I was cruising along until the 17th mile, when I got a stitch just behind my ribs on the left hand side of my back. It's still there now, so it could be a pulled muscle. But anyway, I completed the marathon in a reasonable 4 hours 54 minutes!

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of HMS Richmond's Ship's Company who ran with me today and to the others that came up and cheered me on. It was a massive help to me, particularly when I was in the pain locker. I know a few of you ran further than you expected to and some have never covered the distances before, that you acheived. It was a fantastic effort by all of you and my heartfelt thanks goes out to each and every one of you. To show my gratitude (even though it is a bit twisted!), I've recently posted my application for the Richmond Castle 10k. You may be thinking that 10k is now nothing to a marathon runner, but I'll be doing it in my Square rig, ice cream suit (Junior rates tropical suit, for my civvy readers!).

Well, I'm still 8 miles ahead and I have 22 miles left to run which is just over 3.5 percent. I'm praying for good weather in the Bay of Biscay though!

Marathon Day!

Am I weird? I think that I might be, as I'm really looking forward to the marathon today. I've been up since 3 and I start the run at about 6. I'm just hoping that the weather isn't too hot today; a little bit of rain would be great! I'll post an update around 1100, UK time, if I've finished by then!

I tried to do 20 miles, but didn't manage it..............

..........So I did 21 instead! I've finally managed to crack the elusive 20 mile mark and I'm really pleased. I don't think my knees or ankles are though! Many thanks to Bambi who helped me through the last 6 miles! I'm even more pleased that I felt fine all the way through the run. I only stopped at 21 miles because my knees were nipping a bit and I didn't want to overdo things so close to my marathon. I stopped 3 times through this run: For a posh Paula at 3 miles and to top up my water bottles at 10 and 15 miles.

On the injury front, I have blisters under my old blisters and I'm just generally achey. Apart from that I'm absolutely fine. But I know I'll be quite sore in the morning. I'm definitely looking forward to my 5 days off from running.

I am also into my last 50 miles, well 48 to be precise (336 laps) and I'm 8 miles ahead of schedule. Disco Dancing!!