Thank you for visiting Jogging And Blogging - the home of Will's Marathon Challenge. 

As you probably already know, the challenge is now over. I wanted to write an update and personally thank everyone for their kind support and donations. 

The support has been absolutely overwhelming and the total raised for The Royal Marsden (incl. Gift Aid) is an incredible £10,469.23

It was a truly punishing series of 3 half & 3 full marathons in just 8 months and whilst I won’t be invited to join the local track team, I made it around each and every run.

I would not have been able to do this without the support and generosity of everyone as it was this that kept my knees moving on race day, especially at Mile 17 of the London Marathon one of the hottest days on record and some extreme weather conditions at Edinburgh (including the ash cloud, 80mph winds horizontal rain & sleet and even snow!)

I can honestly say that I have enjoyed it and although I sadly did not better my PB each time, I would consider it a huge success. If however, you feel that I did not keep up my end of the bargain, please do let me know and you will be reimbursed for your donation. Each run had its ups & downs but I know long emails are not for everyone, so if you are interested you can find race reports & photos of each run at joggingandblogging.com 

I have since been nominated to carry the Olympic Flame in recognition of my fundraising efforts for The Royal Marsden and you can view my nomination watch a short video and vote for me online here. 

Thanks again for your support. 

Will

So I am nearly there, Will's Marathon Challenge is almost over - just Edinburgh left to go this Sunday. One last push and then I think it's best to hang up the running shoes for a little while. I can honestly say that it has been fun and there really is nothing like it on race day. The buzz, the crowds, the adrenalin, the atmosphere, the support, the generosity, the cause, the memories... Running the first 13.1 miles is no problem, but I wouldn't be able to run the second 13.1 miles without all of that. It is all of that that makes it worth while. The blisters, the cramps, the chaffing, the aches, the pains, the sprains, the nausea - it all disappears on race day (for a small moment at least!) So a huge thank you to everyone for the various forms of support. The incredible donations, the loyal "likers" & followers, the official supporters and the random cheerers handing out jelly babies on the sidelines, the friends and family from all over the world and to Meg who will have been to every race cheering me on and waiting for me at the finish, but especially to Professor Smith and everyone at The Royal Marsden Hospital - this last run is for all of you.

A great day - a little hot but I made it around 36 minutes quicker than New York in 04:46. Would not have been possible without the support of everyone at mile 19 thank you all! A little finishers photo below with some of those supporters.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Here I am at the Reading Half Marathon, a great day although sadly didn't beat my PB of 01:51:01 but finised just two minutes later. Frustratingly, I could have finished earlier but I had to make a very neccessary pit stop...at mile 12 - could not wait any longer! Too much adrenalin and sugar will do that to anyone! The old knees are starting to show signs of wear and tear (quite litrally with a possible lateral tear to my left miniscus) so am off to have a few scans to make sure. Will post an update soon... Thanks again to everyone who has donated in the past few weeks. I still am overwhelmed by the support and generosity of all - thank you.

Very excited to open up my new bespoke running kit which arrived in the post today - just in time to try out at the Silverstone Half Marathon this Sunday... I will keep the shorts a surprise as you have to see them to believe them (surprisingly difficult to find) but I have attached a picture of the artwork I used to design the shirts. T-Shirts, performance tops, hoodies and more can be ordered to show your support - get in touch!

A potential stress fracture or problem with my heel has caused me to be off training for 2 weeks & I have had to make a decision to drop out of the Race your Pace half marathon around Dorney Lake in Eton this Sunday.

Loosing a letter in the post is very annoying, a package or parcel is even worse, so imagine my frustration when the envelope containing a large amount of cheques from various kind donors never arrives at The Royal Marsden!

Due to everybody's generosity I have not only reached my £5,000 target but gone 50% above it! Therefore, to try & match this overwhelming support from so many of you, I am going to up my training and commit myself to

Found a great video about the Royal Marsden Hospital, a lovely showreel and tribute to the wonderful team and work they do.  It also happens to be one of my all time favourite songs too. Enjoy.

Read More & watch the video here...

Click on an image above to view more details or read more information on Will's Marathon Challenge

Well here they are - the NYC marathon photos.  I haven't really had a chance to go through them all properly yet so you can point and laugh at my silly faces as I go through the various stages of pain - click here for a photo slideshow of the ING New York City Marathon 2010.  It starts off with some photos of the crowds to give you an idea of the scale of the event.  I hope to publish my race report soon...

Got a new domain name for my blog...www.joggingandblogging.com  Please follow or like it to get all the latest updates - thanks for followin!

So I just got off the phone with Brightroom Event Photography who were very helpful at the NYC Marathon Expo (when I had a credit card in my hand).  I ordered the "Staten Island Package - Photo CD" for an extortionate $85.00 (discounted from $100 for a special at the expo).  It has now been nearly 4 weeks since the event and I have seen no sign of my photos.  The lady on the phone explained to me that the photos should now be ready to be dispatched and I should expect them in around 4-6 weeks?!  What a complete joke - in this day and age, with everything being digital, you would have thought that this would take a matter of days not weeks.  So apologies for the delay in getting the photos up - I know a lot of you are keen to see them - so am I!

Apologies for the lack of updates lately! I am working on a new blog with training updates, race news, photos and more... It is not quite ready but I will let you all know when it goes live. Thanks again to everyone for all the comments, generosity and support. It definitely helped on the deceptively hilly NY course! Photos, time and report coming soon.

Went to the NYC marathon expo today and picked up all my bits - all very smooth actually.  Picked up my race number and chip and got as many goodies and freebies as possible, but most of the good stuff was already gone!

Oh well, at this stage I don't think there is much that will help me run faster or longer... any last minute tips welcome!

To be at 70% of my yearly target after less than a month is absolutely incredible. I know I have already said it, but thank you all so much for your kind words and generosity. I just hope I can beat my targets! Thanks again. Will

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Your support, comments and generosity have been incredible. I hope to have my blog ready and online by next week which will provide updates and pictures on training and the races themselves, but for now, here is a picture of me after the Run to the Beat half marathon a couple of weeks ago.

Thank you all again for your kind support and generosity.

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. If you have any questions about the charity, the challenge or anything else please email me at will@willsimonds.co.uk