Dearest Friends,

The Edinburgh Marathon’s OVER. Hooray! And thanks to your immensely kind support for the remarkable charity the Pearl Exchange I was able to grit my teeth and finish the 26.2 mile run. Without your support I actually may not have made it.

On Sunday morning at the start of the marathon the sun shone bright and a brisk breeze on our backs took any of the heat from it and initially blew us on our way. Edinburgh was looking at its magnificent best as we passed our way through the historic city centre towards the coast on the long sea side route to Musselburgh and beyond. We were greeted by marvellous cheering supporters encouraging us on our way. Live bands, solo pipers, thumping rock music, loud hailers, hand bells, football rattles, cheer leader pom-poms, home made signs to ‘Press for Power’, outstretched hands holding a profusion of jelly babies, biscuits, sweets, Mars bar pieces and orange slices – all generously offered along the entire route.

A few days before the run I had a grumbling Achilles / calf  on my left leg which I’d had some physio on and had strapped up for the race. Unfortunately half a mile into the marathon my calf reminded me that it wasn’t happy, then at mile fourteen, told me it was not going work any longer. Luckily I was carrying strong painkillers and was able to coax my leg into a slow shuffle run/walk for the last 12.2 miles. It really was the thought of your generous sponsorship of the Pearl Exchange which kept me going to that oh-so-welcome finish line. My painfully slow second half had some benefits too – I was able to absorb the beautiful scenery, take in the sights, and soak up the amazing atmosphere all the more. The extensive bruising I had post run is fading remarkably quickly and only two days on, today, the bruising is confined to my ankle and foot. All is going well.

Much Love and Many Heartfelt Thanks to You ALL.

Carey XX