Marathon man

Huge congratulations to Stuart for his excellent first marathon effort.  5 hours 18 minutes is a fantastic time.  The above pictures are him at 22 miles and then basking in his post marathon glory.  I'll leave it to you to work out which one is which.

To put things in perspective, Stuart wasn't a regular runner when he started his training.  The recommended time to start training for your first marathon if you are a non-runner is around September the year before.  Stuart started training at the beginning of January of the same year.  He also started at a weight of 17 stone or 108 kg.

But in just under four months he went from running 4 miles to being able to complete 26 miles.  He also shed 2.5 stone or 16 kg.  He has grown capillaries in areas he didn't know he had, washed clean his arteries of fatty plaques and add a decade to his life expectancy.  He has also raised thousands for charity and inspired family and friends alike.

The first run that was termed a marathon in Ancient Greece ended with the runner dying at the feet of the general to whom he was conveying a message.  Not only did Stuart not expire he managed to down several Kronenbourgs with the relish of a man that hadn't had a drink for months.

Very well done.  Now for a sub 4 hours 30 minutes next year...