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Update: So, I said that I was going to run the marathon. I trained to run the marathon. Prepared myself physically and mentally for the enormity of the task. Had the bag half packed, the music playlist sorted and some nice new headphones for the big day. And then, exactly a week before the big day, disaster struck. I went for a gentle 5 miler on the Sunday morning. You know, an easy run, just to keep the joints nice and loose. No further than two miles in, my left knee decided that it wanted to go no further. I tried to convince it, cajole it and even tried walking slowly back home. None of the above worked, the knee was intransigent. Monday morning came around. I couldn't walk. Literally. I had to get a lift to the station. I could either put weight on my leg, or bend it, but not both. Try going up or down stairs in that condition - it doesn't work. You don't notice how many stairs there are on the tube until they fill you with dread. I spent Tuesday at home, resting the leg. It got a little better. Wednesday came, the leg was much the same as Tuesday. I could walk, with a pronounced limp, but couldn't do stairs. This was not the final few days of preparation that I was hoping for! The week rolled on, the knee improved slowly. But I still couldn't walk normally on Friday and certainly couldn't run. The writing was on the wall. So, after more miles of training than I care to remember, I had to withdraw from the big day. I have preserved my place for next year's race, so I will be training again soon. To all those who sponsored me, thank you. I'm sorry that I let you down. I have every intention of making this right next year. Watch this space. Chris ************************************************* I am running the London Marathon on 13 April 2014. I've wanted to run the marathon for 6 years and this year I now have to face the reality of what running 26.2 miles actually means! I have previously run half marathons and survived, but I've never run this far. My longest run in training was 18 miles in November 2013. My foot injury (see below) flared up the following week and the furthest I have run since is a half marathon. The second half is therefore going to be a great step into the unknown! My place in the marathon came from the ballot, meaning that I am not obligated to raise any money in order to race. However, if in the course of putting my body on the line, I can liberate a few pounds from your wallet, then at least the pain will have some deeper meaning. I would like you to consider supporting either Myeloma UK or The Royal British Legion and I have a page for both charities on Givey. I have reasons for choosing both these charities - MyelomaUK because someone close to us suffers from this form of cancer. He is one of the kindest and most selfless people you could meet and we hope that by helping to fund research into this type of cancer, there might one day be a cure. It does not have the media profile of some of the other types of cancer but is no less deadly. The Royal British Legion is a charity to which my mum and grandparents devote a lot of time and effort. It supports current and ex servicemen and women & their families - people to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude. If you would like to see the total amount pledged in honour of my folly, please visit both www.givey.com/chrisedgington [Royal British Legion] and www.givey.com/chrisedgington1 [Myeloma UK]. I am using Givey to fundraise as they do not charge the charities anything at all from your donations - unlike almost all of the other well known websites. I've been training since October, albeit with an enforced break due to injury between the end of November and beginning of February. The injury - a temperamental and repetitive (not to mention excruciating) problem with my left foot, does reappear from time to time and my training has had to be very light to avoid making the foot worse. Any dreams of a quick time have hence evaporated and instead my focus is to make it to the end of the course without stopping (loo break possibly excepted!) There is a chance (although I'm working hard to make it a slim one) that the injury may flare up and I will have to pull out. There's also a possibility that I will start the race but not make it to the end. If you would rather not donate until I've actually completed the race, please return to this page on or after April 13. I will update the page with what actually happened on the day!