bottles of beer, 3 chickens and Elvis.Goal - To finish (which I managed in 4:06:34)Key to success - Long Sunday morning runs organised by my running club, Worcester Joggers. Respect to Stuart and Alan. I wouldn't have done it without their help

Time not givenIt was my first marathon, aged 40 plus, and I only started running 2 years ago. I trained so hard and nearly gave up once or twice as I trained on my own and I began to hate Sundays for the long run. But I persevered and the main thing

legs just couldn't go any faster!Q: What was your goal? And what was your finishing time? A: My goal was sub 4 hours and I got 3:56:55 Yessss!Q: What would you do differently? And indeed what was the key to your success? A: Do more long runs and stick

.My goal was to finish in around four hours. I hoped to just get under but didn't succeed, recording 4.09.29 - still pretty pleased.I'll definitely be doing another marathon and would increase and vary my training more. I did the long runs required but only

and looking for a swim time of around 1:20 on the day. Cycling has been a great experience but if you thought marathon training took time then try fitting in six-hour training rides!Another positive outcome of entering Ironman Switzerland is that I've joined a

Mile 18 supporterDecided to go to mile 18 and watch the race this year and I'm glad I did.  Spectating, thanks to Meerkat, was brilliant.  Have never seen the race from that perspective and although I was itching to get out there and run I really

on Embankment - very emotional - I was nearly there and knew I was going to do it! Hardest time - between 20 and 22! Slowed down - seems a long way but determined not to stop. Thought about the reason I was running - for my best friend Liz, who died of breast

wanted was to get round sub 4.20. I managed: did it in 4.15.43! Had been envisaging beer for the last 10 miles, so on finishing my long-suffering friends and I headed to Walkabout at Temple - three pints of beer, pure elation and all the sugar I had

"official" supporters Shambler and Dr Nic plus the lovely LongDistanceBadger!  Also great to see TwoDogs! Great day ending with a personal best of 4hrs 30mins (13min improvement over two years ago). Rain was excellent running conditions.  I "blew up

4:00 TO 5:00 (Page 3) Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15Mark1, 4:20My first marathon, well chuffed that I finished still running, best experience was the crowd support without a doubt.Worst experience was getting past pedestrians