I did it! I bloody did it!!

I, Rebecca Balcombe, ran the bloody London Marathon yesterday!!!! Can you believe it?

Basically, everything seemed to be going well until about 8 miles - George and I were still running together and i'd been past Sara and Jo (sara was dong a wonderful job at a water station and jo was cheering lots!) when my knee began to niggle. I told George to go on ahead by about 8.5miles because my knee was getting worse so sadly we separated! I saw Andrew at about 9 miles/Canada Water by which time my knee was hurting more. It basically got worse from then on, until I had to stop just before half-way. The rest was a bit of a run-walk really, and I had to use the less painful moments to gain some ground! Passing Jade Goody was good fun - she did not look good! Passing Steve Redgrave was also great, as he's far too smug!

After seeing Andrew, the next people I saw were Angharad and Rachel - what a wonderful greeting! I started crying with the pain and Angharad clearly understood (after doing it last year) and cried with me! Wonderful to see them!
Then came Rachel and her family - GREAT to see them - Rachel force fed me a banana! It was so good to have a chat with them, they were so encouraging! Then I missed Andrew which was a real shame, but spoke to him on my mobile!!
The next cheering committee came at london bridge - Tess, Jacks, Debbie and Caroline. Absolutely fab to see them and to stop and have a chat (did a lot of that obviously!). They all looked so excited to see me, it was fantastic!

Unfortunately, I failed to see Jess, Mary, Lily and Hamish, but it was great knowing that they were there somewhere! Ditto for everyone watching on TV!

The atmosphere was like nothing else, absolutely amazing. Macmillan had such wonderful cheering teams, they made you feel like there was noone else on the road - I almost felt sorry for the other runners!Coming down the Embankment just gave the impression that you were heading for something special. Seeing Mary Sheridan, my personal tutor, was amazing - she gave me the boost I needed! After stopping for a chat and a photo, off I went on the last leg of my mammoth expedition!The croud was cheering my name, the runners were supporting each other, everyone was smiling. The closer we got to Buckingham Palace the louder it got, they managed to drown out Simon and Garfunkel who were on my ipod at the time! I actually stopped at the end of The Mall. I just stood there, gazing at the finish line and from somewhere I got the last little bit of energy and I ran, with everything I had, with my head held high, listening to the screams from the crowd! And with my arms in the air, I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!!!
What an amazing feeling! I've never felt so proud of myself! I cried and cried and cried, then got my medal, my foil blanket, had my picture taken, then went off to find everyone!

We all went to a pub in Leicester Square where we sipped champagne and ate lots of grub! It was fab - thank you Andrew, Sara, Tess, Debs, Caroline, Jacks and Corrina - you made it such a wonderful end to a fanastic and unique day!

Thanks for all your support! The £3000 I've raised wouldn't be there if it weren't for you.

I'll post all the bits I've missed out at a later date.

Love Becks xx