Mission accomplished!

Well, that's it then! It's done! After all those months of training and fundraising, and the excitement, anxiety, despair and joy that accompanied them, the twomarathons project is officially accomplished! I've run the two marathons and I've reached my fundraising targets. Now there are just the loose ends to tie up, with lots of "thankyous" to send and a few donations still to collect. It's a strange feeling, this mixture of achievement, gratitude, relief, and bereavement.

The London Marathon has a great reputation; everybody says what an amazing thing it is, to the extent that it feels churlish not to agree. Of course, the organisation is impeccable, the support of the crowds is brilliant, and running past (or over) landmarks such as Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace is an unforgettable experience. However, it isn't only the supporters who are there in crowds. With 35,000 participants, the course itself is pretty packed! Faster runners can escape from this within a few miles, but for me it was a feature of just about the whole marathon. I'd love to know how many miles I actually did cover, including all the dodging and weaving!

All of this pales in significance when compared with the fact that I did finish, all be it in a rather slower time (4:41:29) than Bungay (4:18:24). Passing over the finish line, receiving my medal and goodie bag, and all the other parts of the process which I'd heard and read so much about (having my timing chip taken off my shoe, collecting my kit bag from the lorries...) were quite dream-like. Perhaps when the official photo appears (this is meant to become available later today) I will really believe it all happened!

This week's heartfelt thanks go to Helen, Bella, Simon, Gareth, Steven, WPF Therapy and the Poplar community, for their support at the start, around the course, and at the finish; to all the Kensington community for the hero's welcome on my return; and to the many, many people who supported from a distance! Just imagine, I might be able to talk and think about something else now!

With the last donations trickling in, the totals currently exceed £2,600 for each charity! The Justgiving pages remain live for three months after the events (until 19th and 26th July, in other words), and of course I can forward donations directly to the charities, so if you feel like boosting the figures, naturally I would be delighted! I will post the final totals once I have them, but otherwise, it's goodbye! Most importantly, it's also "thankyou", for your interest, for your generosity, for everything that has made it possible for me to complete this project successfully. THANKYOU!!!