Well done to James Middleton who completed the London Marathon last Sunday with a thoroughly respectable time of 4 hours and 45 minutes. He raised over £4500 for the Limbless Association having set a target of £3500 and funds continue to come in.
On his JustGiving page, James says that he choose to raise money for the Limbless Association because he was inspired by his girlfriend Veronica who lost her left leg in December 2010 after being hit by a truck at Marble Arch. He felt that if she could learn how to walk again in the eight months since leaving hospital in April 2011, then he could run the 26.2 miles in the London Marathon. He goes on to say that since becoming more aware of the amputee and limbless community, he has found that there are many people doing a lot more than he was with his four limbs. As a result, he viewed the Marathon as both a personal challenge and an opportunity to raise money for a charity close to his heart. Click here to visit his JustGiving page.
We congratulate and thank James on his efforts. His story of the race can be read below.
James’ story
What a way to see London! I’d been warned to take it easy on the first half as it’s easy to get carried away, so I chatted with the other runners and soaked up the cheer from the locals as we went past. I think I lost my focus a bit as I hit the half way point about 20 minutes behind where I should have been. Then there’s the long curve out into Docklands which most people say is the hardest part. I think I’d have to agree, but once you’re through here, the crowd starts getting really thick and noisy, which is great, and then you’re heading back into town towards the park.
That final stretch is really uplifting – as they say, the last six miles is all crowd! I managed to pick up the pace for this approach to Buckingham Palace and made it over the line in 4h45m – a bit over my target of 4h30, but finishing was the important thing!
The weather held out just long enough and friends and family managed to rendezvous in a little pub and celebrate the runners’ achievements.
