Following on from the 'Vertical Rush' race up Tower42 last month, which 'cachers were instrumental in helping me smash my £150 target for Shelter and getting me across the line a mere 1.3 seconds ahead of my 7 minute target, I've been on the lookout for a new challenge to keep me motivated at the gym...

Thanks to a mixup which saw me told I'd not be running the London Marathon (April 17th), then that I would be, then that I wasn't (gurr), I've been upgraded from running The Bupa Great North Run in September to doing the Edinburgh Marathon instead. It's on May the 22nd, giving me just 40 days to get ready for it, as of today..!

The Edinburgh Marathon is the UK's fastest Marathon and I'll be joined by 15,000 to run 26 miles 385 yards (or 42.2Km) from below the historic Edinburgh castle, out of town and along the coast. I lost my father to a heart attack in 2005, at the too-young age of 64, making The British Heart Foundation a charity close to my... heart.

I've paid £30 to take part but if I fail to hit the £350 minimum target, I'll have to make up the difference myself(!) so I'm going to be fundraising just as hard as I'll be training. To 'keep things interesting' I'm setting myself the target of completing the course in under 4.5 hours; a bit under 6mph for 270 minutes... The average finishing time in 2010 was 4h30m04s so obviously I have to beat that

Any help kind fellow geocachers can give me to keep, via my Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/ShortNotice , would be massively appreciated, as it has been for past fundraising races I've taken part in; The Three Peaks Challenge in 2009, Sports Relief 6 Miles and 48.1mile Round Jersey run/walk/hobble in 2010 and the Vertical Rush event this year, as above.

After the run and some walk-by caching to stretch my legs out I hope to be relaxing in the spring sunshine for a Cache Event: GC2RJE3 - After The Pain! (Edinburgh) - I'll add a link when I'm able. If you happen to be in or around Edinburgh on May 22nd, it'd be great to see you there. With or without any spare change :wub: :cheers: