Overview

I am delighted to announce that I have officially broken the £10,000 fundraising target, including gift aid. Total raised to date £10,167.98.

I have a further £697 to pay in and another few hundred pounds to collect so here's to £11,000.......

All my running has come to an end now and whilst I have enjoyed nearly every moment I am glad to be returning to normallity.

Most importantly dad is making an excellent recovery and has travelled back out to the boat in Australia with mum. Insulin injections, daily antibiotics and endless pills are a small price to pay for an 'all clear' and the chance to see another sunrise. We celebrate my eldest daughter's 4th birthday today and Isobel (and Amelia) spoke with granddad on the telephone. This is something I can honestly say I never thought would happen and we have come such a long way since hearing the news back in Aug/Sep.

To all my fellow Pancreatic Cancer UK runners it was an absolute pleasure to share the last six months on email with you and I hope we keep in contact. Just don't ask me to run London again.

Sue Ballard at PCUK has organised us increadibly well and my hat goes off to her for the marvellous task she does everyday in raising awareness and supporting the likes of our family all across the UK. I thank you for all your support and encouragement along the way.

The PCUK Marathon team has rasied a total of £26,244 to date.

Now where is that glass of champagne?

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Well, the extremely hot marathon is over and I am trying to pursuade myself that my knees are in fact fully recovered so I have no excuse to get back down the gym today. No more reasons to keep the trainers in the bag or avoid buying a sports drink in the morning. The toe nail I lost, whilst still on extended leave, is not causing discomfort so, in short, I must get back on track. I have to say that I am finding it tough to knuckle down again. Perhaps it is just like falling off a bike and the sooner I get back on then the easier it will be. Personally, I think my brain is treating it more like having to rip off the biggest plaster the medical world has ever seen and with my hairy legs I can see a lot of discomfort ahead.

The Heroes Run in Brighton on 17th May will see those runners in fancy dress attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most number of SuperHeroes in one place at one time. I even have super girl outfits for the girls and I am sure they will be joining me for the last few meters of the race. Now all I have to do is pursuade Laura that a latex cat suit is the way to go...hhmm, it might be easier to take on the Marathon again.

My first challenge is to work out how to reduce the weight of the rather heavy helmet I am planning on wearing. Perhaps something akin to bicycle helmet airflow holes might work, or simple holes in the top. Oh, the dilemas of a superhero - I wonder if Superman and Spiderman had similar problems in getting their suits right? Perhaps a problem with chaffing or access for comfort breaks? Perhaps not, I guess I should just toughen up.

With the evenings getting lighter and warmer it is so much easier to think about running after work but don't expect to see a caped Marvel flying past your house just yet. That will have to wait for the big day!

And my Marvel SuperHero?

THOR

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So much for the mild weather on Sunday! It was a blistering day without a cloud in the sky when I first arrived at Grenwich Park. This was going to be hot so I took onboard more than enough fluid to give myself the best start.

Everyone prepared themselves with the usual stretching/jogging/lubrication and general OCD behaviour by checking that you still had everything you had checked for 2 minutes ago just in case the fairies had come along and stolen them. Then we all moved in to the starting enclosure. Not long now and still no sign of any cloud cover. The gun went off and 10 minutes later I crossed the line and started on the 26.2 miles between me and The Mall. Everything was feeling pretty good.

Half a mile in my race took a change for the worse. As with so many others who took on extra water a comfort break was needed not long after the gun went off.  I dashed towards the ditch, stopped too quickly and the long wet grass (dew I hope) took both feet from under me and I crashed on my coccyx and tumbled into the ditch. I felt the jar - not good. I stretched out as best I could before starting off again. This could hurt later I thought.

The first few miles are all about survival as I tried to find space for my feet and avoid any discarded clothing or dropped items. I saw one girl stop to pick up her water bottle only to take out the girl behind who had no chance of stopping - at least my tumble was on grass and I didn't have 15,000 people steaming up behind.

I would be seeing Laura and the girls, my brother and mum & dad around 11/12 miles in Bermondsey so there wasn't much to think about for a while and I soaked in the atmosphere and counted the number of Rhinos (four) as I passed them – hoping they wouldn’t be catching me later on.

There was no Cutty Sark just a load of boarding and several narrow bottlenecks when everybody started falling over each other again. Best avoided I thought and took the cautious route.

As I approached the family I could feel my hip and lower back with each stride and whilst not too painful it was certainly not helping my running. I spent a minute or so with family and took the kisses and cuddles with me as I made for Tower Bridge. There are a few standout moments and this was one of them. It is a great feeling to cross Tower Bridge and know that the South London leg is over. Not long after I passed the half way mark and received a boost from the PCUK team at 14 miles. I ran the first half in 2hrs 10mins, slightly slower than normal.

The next section was all about grunt and effort – if there is a dull and tedious section of the marathon then heading out of Canary Wharf to the tip of the Isle of Dogs and back again is it. These are the miles that time forgot and a number of people hit the wall. I was feeling it in my legs at this point but pushed through as best I could, my pace slowed. By mile 19 I was in pain and just after 20 miles my legs were feeling like concrete blocks and my hip and back felt punished at every step – I hit “the wall”. I had to make the decision of walking briefly and sorting myself out or risk not finishing at all. Walking, even half a mile, would mean missing my target time but this was no time for pride. With the sun baking down I took on another bottle of water and started a half mile of walking and stretching. This helped clear the legs down and got me going again.

From then on I was able to run/shuffle a little easier. The pain had reduced or perhaps I just didn’t notice it any more and I was pretty much zoned out. Between 21 and 23/24 miles I had no idea how far along I had gone. What I did know was that Laura and the others were waiting for me past Big Ben. I could just see Big Ben round the corner of the river and it looked a long way away.

“One foot after the other. That is the only way to go now” I thought.

I hazily remember the likes of London Eye gleaming in the corner of my eye but by now I was fixed on the road and continuous roar of the crowd. I had long since ditched the last of my energy gel as it was triggering my gag reflex rather than getting me going. Jelly Babies became my energy fix and I have to thank all those on the Embankment for fuelling my new addiction.

Big Ben, yes, Big Ben! There’s the turn. I held back the wave of emotion that had been driving me on for the last mile and new that somewhere up ahead was everything and everyone I was running for.

But where exactly were they? I had received a call to say they were along the straight by the balloons. How far along and the colour of the balloons had been lost in my haze and I started to look from side to side just like a tennis fan following the flight of the ball. 3/4 of the way up there they were. More kisses and cuddles (my 2 year old Amelia was not impressed with ‘wet daddy’ at this stage, Isobel wanted big hugs) and I pushed on. I must have only 1,000 meters to go. Birdcage walk gave me a lift but not to my running pace and once we turned the corner to the Mall the finish line beckoned. I completely missed my brother and father & mother with 200 meters to go but I could only see the finish line now.

80 meters to go and I think the announcer picked up on my pain as he called out for me to keep going. In my mind I ran faster, in reality I was still shuffling along the best I could but I knew I had done it and everything that hurt over the last 26 miles left my mind as I crossed the line and thanked the Lord that I would never have to do that again. Ever.

My unofficial time was 4.48 – 18 mins over my target but on such a hot day I was just happy to make it round.

Photos to follow.

James

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23rd April - 3 days to go

"Do my knees hurt in anticipation or should I be worried?"

Perhaps paranoia is starting to get the best of me but with my back and ribs needing a physio session yesterday I an starting to worry about the smallest things. I look at people swinging suitacases and rucksacks around at the station and pray than one won't be cannoned into my knees or dropped on my feet. I've stopped taking in the view when walking instead I scour the floor to avoid uneven paving slabs and broken curbs. Driving to the station each day I leave an extra few meters from the car infront and reduce speed if there is another car approaching the same junction. I am, like most runners this weekend, starting to fret that something will stop me running on Sunday and put all that hard work to waste. In short, I am on High Alert. 

This may seem overly protective and perhaps it is but being so close to the main event fear of the unknown and uncontrolled does play with your mind and turn an otherwise normal streetgoer into a paranoid wreck.

Writing this I noted two words 'unkown' and 'uncontrolled' neither of which I can do anything about so it is time to take a chill pill draw the charity raffle this afternoon and enjoy the horse racing at Sandown Park tomorrow (I though that would be a good relaxer before the weekend). I collected my runner number and timing chip yesterday so all there is left to do is hydrate and eat, eat, eat over the next few days.

This may be my last post before Sunday so thank you everyone and remember it is "never to late to donate"

www.justgiving.com/hardinguk

James

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22nd April - 4 days to go

Sunday's marathon is fast approaching and I am down to short 10/15 mins runs to keep me ticking over.

I have completed 4 half marathons, a 16 mile race, numerous training runs and endured mountainous courses from Hell,  blistered feet, chaffing, black toenails and the obligatory aching knees - and I haven't even run the big race yet! But on the plus side I am fitter than I have been in many years, met a great number of fellow runners along the way, dropped over half a stone and received so much support from everyone I know that it really does warm the cockles.

Family and friends are due to line the second half of the course and I am a bit emotionally apprehensive about seeing my family after crossing Tower Bridge. At least I should be able to speak at that point in the race - not so sure about the finish. 

So am I ready? I have to say that "Yes!" I am - and looking forward to the run in a nervous laughter sort of way.

I would love to break the £7,000 mark so please sponsor me to help raise the last £500.

www.justgiving.com/hardinguk

STRIVING FOR SURVIVAL

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Doesn't time fly! Less than two weeks until London and the usual question of "have I done enough" keeps ticking over in my mind. Whatever the case nothing is going to change in the next 10 days so best concentrate on the all important Taper and make sure energy levels are at bursting point come raceday.

Support to date has been fantastic and the Charitable Raffle and silent auction is off to a good start. If anyone wants to bid on two tickets to the sell out Wasps v Gloucester game on 25th April and a WASPS TEAM SIGNED PRO RUGBY SHIRT then email me for details of how to bid. All proceeds (as always) go to Pancreatic Cancer UK.

I'll keep everyone up-to-speed in the last few days before the big race but a quick thank you again to all those who have (and are yet to) sponsor me including business sponsors mOma foods and Chandlers Building Supplies.

London takes me very close to breaking the 100 mile race marker in my 107 mile target. 107 miles is the same as running from London to Bristol or London to Nottingham. If you haven't sponsored me yet it's not too late to make a difference. Every pound counts!

www.justgiving.com/hardinguk

Good luck to everyone else running London.

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Well, I saw sun and not rain (as predicted) this weekend and it pretty much sums up my general mood on the running front.

The last three weeks have seen my final two half marathons (Hastings and Marlow) completed in sub 2 hours and a 15-16 mile run yesterday at Marathon pace. The reason for the cheery feel on a Monday does have something to do with the fact that I did not have to run yesterday's 2 hrs 25 mins in the rain but also that I felt surprisingly good afterwards. I have been talking for a while now about dropping my pace for the longer runs but during the half marathons I subconsciously wanted to come home in under 2 hours.

Yesterday was different, I had achieved my mini goal on the ½ marathons, my dog, Truffle, was running with me (not sure she was quite prepared for the slog ahead of her) so there was no need for my iPod. Neither was there time pressure but most importantly the battery on my footpod was flat and that meant no gizmos - I had to gauge my speed purely on how I felt.

All said and done I have to say that I felt pretty good at the end and this morning I am not walking like John Wayne, which is usually the Monday ritual in the office. The time keeps me on track for a 4hr 30min marathon so I am a happy camper, especially as I managed to stop any more toe nails turning black in the process.

To celebrate I think lunchtime will see in my last alcoholic drink before the big day.

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I am planning a London raffle to raise further funds for PCUK - if anyone has contacts who might sponsor a prize let me know. james.harding@cheviot.co.uk

We are trying to keep prize sponsors to London firms as there is then the potential for them to get future business off the back of it BUT that doesn't mean we won't accept items from national firms.

Any help gratefully appreciated and the raffle has the full backing of PCUK (copy letter available if required)

In terms of more media coverage The Mid Sussex Times ran an article in this week's paper and I hope to persuade some of the London editions to get on board. We shall see.

Let me know if anyone can help.

James

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