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I'm in. This will be my first marathon, I just hope I can get there. I particularly want to do Brighton as it was home to me for a long time. I just hope the knee holds out......

Sounds amazing but 27th October is Great South Run day for me. I'm in awe of those that can get round a marathon course. I'm hoping that a 10 miler will be a step on the way for me. I started running 18 months ago but have had 4 months out (doctor's orders following a knee MRI) and am coming back to it slowly - and by slowly, I mean sloooooowly! Really frustrating as I'd just broken the 8 minute mile barrier for a 10k before the dreaded ITB/chondromalacia struck!

Yay, well done. That's fantastic.

I can't remember where I borrowed it from but I use the mantra "I am running fast and strong" as it seems to fit into my stride pattern.

Good on ya. You should be really proud of yourself. 

I'm in the same boat with the Great South Run rapidly approaching. It is getting better, slowly, with rest and physio and limited high impact exercise but I can't run more than 2 miles and am seriously thinking about trying to transfer my place to someone else. I'm seeing the physio again tomorrow. 

I wear kinesiology tape on my knee when running which has allowed me to get from 1 mile to 2.5. I just want to know how long the blighter is going to take to heal.

David, I can entirely empathise. I am in an almost identical situation. After 9 months of gradually building up my mileage with no injuries, I got a sharp pain under my right kneecap two weeks ago. I tried ice, resting and ibuprofen as well as strapping my knee. The same thing happened two miles into my next run. I'm supposed to be doing the Great South Run in 4 weeks so saw a physio in desperation last week. He diagnosed patello-femoral pain ('runner's knee') but advised that I continue running short distances and build it up again slowly. He also gave me deep tissue massage and advised some exercises that I can try at home.

I'm currently managing 1 mile without any discomfort and can only hope that, as my quadriceps strengthen, I'll be able to go progressively further. I'm tempted to give up on the GSR for this year and clear my diary race-wise to take the pressure off. I'm enrolled to do the Brighton Marathon in April and really don't want to forego this (I'm also running for charity).

I also had some fantastic advice from a physio on here called Tom who advised me to try kinesiology tape which also seems to be helping. I have no doubt that there's a light at the end of the tunnel here but it's soooooooo frustrating in the meantime!

I hope it all goes well for you and I'd definitely echo the advice others have given - seek out a good physio. It's lovely to speak to someone who works with these injuries all the time and can reassure you that, with the right rehab program, you'll be back to running well again in the future.