Firstly a confession. I applied for my marathon place from a sense of complete selfishness. I wanted to beat the battle of the bulge (still 8 kgs to go) and crossing the line at Buckingham Palace would be that final victory. But now that I have been accepted for the race I turn my attention to grander ideals.
The ideal I am focused on is raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Some of us have had our children in the hospital. Some of us will have our children in the hospital. As I become a “grumpy old man” I realise each day that we live in a very imperfect world. In the perfect world, a superb hospital such as GOSH would be perfectly funded. But this is not reality.
I ask those of you who can afford to donate something to donate (you know who you are). To those of you who cannot afford to donate, your best wishes and encouragement are gratefully received. I will do the rest.
I will get up and run those hundreds of training miles on cold wintry foggy mornings.