- always look to see if a treadmill is moving before stepping on it
- if a treadmill is moving….turn it off before stepping on it
- ‘as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti’ is a really good song lyric
- ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ and ‘City Lights’ are BRILLIANT movies
- there should be a driving test for people with shopping trolleys
- acts of random kindness are great things
- life is good
- being fit and healthy is good
- anyone who runs a marathon is mentally unstable
- the impossible, is sometimes possible; and the journey between the two is - I hope - worthy of the telling
This has been a truly amazing
experience for me. To have the idea of such a madcap challenge, to have the
personal insight that writing about it would present me with the best chance of pulling
it off, and then to actually succeed in doing it. There is something so beautiful about the
completeness of it. I know exactly where I was when I had the idea, I know
exactly where I was when I crossed the finish line (just about) and I know
exactly where I am, now that it is drawing to a close. However I cannot
end proceedings without – in true Oscar fashion – saying some grateful thank you’s…..
To Alison; my biggest fan, my
biggest encourager, my biggest blog-reader, AND the only person ever to be
present at an official Tuesday night weigh-in. Alison, I honestly don’t know if
I would have done it without you; I might have but I am so glad I didn’t have to find out, and I am
even gladder you were there at the marathon to see a success that you played
such a part in.
To Dom and Christina; the only
people who supported me in person at every single race: Manchester, Newcastle and London.
You have no idea how great it was to see you in the crowd; it was always good
for a few miles.
To Clare; always there. Present in
Manchester and London, and backing me up any time it was needed. SO appreciated.
To Paul, Martha, Greg, Patricia,
Alejandro, Anna. Whether in big ways or small; they supported me all the way,
and were there at the finish. They also contributed considerably to setting the
table on a roar both metaphorically and at the marathon, literally!
To Mum and Dad; I hope I did you
proud by running in loving, living, past and existing memories of you both. Thank you for making me a person that could pull this off, and I love you both very much.
To all of you who have at any point
visited this blog. I never advertised it - and it didn't break any records for popularity - and yet you happy few still came; you still
read. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to log into the statistics page and
find out that someone else had popped in for a read; and where they were from.
It far exceeded my wildest expectations, even allowing for the 10-20 hits which
were my own visits before I worked out how to remove them from the count!
And my final credit, is an unusual one
(well, it is me so there’s bound to be a weird one isn’t there?!). I would like
to thank words. Yes, words! They are capable of giving rise to the whole gamut
of emotions. They can hurt, they can console, they can make you laugh, or make
you cry. They can be powerful sources for good or evil. Whatever these
particular words (and all those before) have done for you – and I hope they
have touched you, even if only a little – I thank them most sincerely and
hugely for inspiring this particular man to greatness. Words; I can state with
complete certainty that I could not have done it without you.
So my dear friends; the time has finally
come. After…..
608 miles of training
8 hours, 33 minutes and 55 seconds
of racing
3 stone 12 pounds weight loss
£1353.13 money raised for the
British Heart Foundation (Great North/Manchester Runs 2013)
£1,627.94 money raised for Age UK
(London Marathon 2014)
308 blog posts
6,475 blog hits……
….from the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, France, China, India (naming the top ten).
981 days......
this blog is at an end (this is harder than I thought it was going to be). Like I said; look out for the new blog, but from fatmantofitman it's goodbye, thank you, and remember; whatever it is, it can be done; so have a go!!
THE END??
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