Warning - contains Oscar speech style gushing

I’ve been pondering for a while how to say something, and I can’t think how to do it without sounding sentimental and gushing.

So here it is.

My friends and family are bloody brilliant.

This marathon/fundraising malarkey has been far more stressful that I thought (or hoped) it would be.

The running side of things has been fine. Little niggles as expected, and I’ve learnt far more about foam rollers than I wanted to. But I feel that I’m stronger running now than I ever have been before. A proper training regime has been a revelation. Who’d have thunk it.

The fundraising however… it was much harder work than I had anticipated.

I’ve done a craft sale and a bake sale, I’ve sold recipe books and my Mum organised an auction for me. My brother made an animated video (he’s a bit of a creative whizz!). I’ve put myself in the local press in an effort to raise the profile of my fundraising efforts (photos… shudder!). Last weekend I did a car boot sale.

Roll up, roll up! 

I’ve tried to organise bag-packing at supermarkets – apparently you have to book about a year in advance. Who knew?! So that was a non-starter. I had grand plans for things I could do at work. It’s big hospital. There are lots of staff, so in my planning I had anticipated doing lots of things at work. I wanted to run a quiz, do bake sale, organise a raffle… but I was told no fundraising on site. Which I have to admit was a bit grumpiness-inducing. It seemed a bit mean spirited, but what I could do?

Lots of people have donated to me – simple acts of kindness, getting nothing in return. Members of my team at work have offered sponsorship the old-fashioned way – filling in their details and pledging cash. Most of what has been raised however has been online through my Virgin Money Giving page. I’ve been spamming people for months on Facebook and through Twitter, and my friends and family have dug deep. Five weeks before race day I’d got to the fundraising target half way point.

And then something amazing happened.

Step forward the Dog in the Wig. My fairy godmother. My hero (I did warn about the gushing).

Sunday afternoon, me and Matt had just got home from the car boot sale. I’d counted out the takings for the day (£59.70 – 4 hours on the day, lots of time baking and sorting before-hand!) and was sorting the coins into bags to take to the bank (why are you always short one 20p to make it up to the value?!) whilst Matt ate the leftover cakes (he ate six. SIX!)

My phone pinged to say I had an email. I opened it and my heart literally skipped a beat. There was a bit of incoherent rambling. I thrust the screen in Matt’s face. I flapped and cried like an American teenager (you know the films – they’re usually cheerleaders and have perky names like Brittney or Summer).

From less than £600 to over £1500, just like that. The Dog in the Wig had done something so incredibly kind and generous that I still can’t quite believe it.

I was – and still am – utterly gobsmacked.

No one was obliged to donate. Everyone who has has done it through generosity and kindness, sparing what they can to support the charity, to support me, or - possibly - to try and stop me spamming them. I am grateful to every single donor and I don’t think I can ever thank them as much as I need to.

My Fairy Godmother said something when he made his staggeringly generous donation: “Time for you to focus on having a good time on the day...”, and it’s taken me back a bit to one of the reasons I signed up for the London marathon. It has a reputation as The Marathon – an event that’s a bit special, and I really, really wanted to be part of that.

So here’s to my lovely, kind, generous friends and family. Thank you. I’ll try and have a good time on the day J