Seth has done his marathon - well done Seth! Here are his thoughts on the day.

I made the full distance, I'm overjoyed to have finished the whole course in my hometown event!
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Build up to the day in the morning was reasonably standard (I imagine) for a regular marathon runner. I got up at 5am and ate my breakfast before heading over to the bus, transferring us from the city centre to the Alexandra stadium. When I arrived at the stadium I waited for an hour or so before the start. I did get nervous as time passed by but I was raring to get running.
The course was a lot hillier than I expected but the support out on the course was immense. The crowd cheering my name gave me that extra spurt and motivated me to keep going, especially through Canon Hill Park and in the last mile. I must admit the last 5 miles were a real struggle!

My aspiration was to compete the distance in around 4 hours and 30 minutes. However, I just missed out on my target time and managed to complete the marathon in under 4 hours and 35 minutes. Nonetheless I am so chuffed and proud for achieving this milestone.

I am eager to start running again and I hope to be back to Parkrun at least in a few weeks time. I have set my sights on new tests, may be another marathon could be part of my plans? But for now I'll take a much needed break - my legs still feel achy but I'll be back to full fitness soon.

Here's some pictures of me out on the course and at the end of the race celebrating with my medal.​

​Thank you to everybody for your constant support (friends, family and of course the spectators) and thanks for reading too!

Again, please send any final donations to my fundraising page here.

Seth

There's less than 48 hours until Seth's big race. Check out his latest update here.

​Hello again!

I have been really lazy over the past week besides going to work and watching Ellie compete in the Sheffield TenTenTen event.

Rest and recuperation has been in order for my body to recover properly. I’ve also started to prepare myself for the big day using a heavy carb diet.

My marathon t-shirt has arrived and I’m very impressed with the fabric and style! If you are interested the t-shirt was created and personalised through Doodletogs.

This is my last post before the marathon. I'm a little nervous but also excited by the thought of getting around the course. I will let you know how I got through the pain barrier next week. Wish me luck, and I’ll see you on the other side!

Any last donations or messages of support can be sent here.
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Seth

Here is another update from Seth Kirby on his training for the Birmingham marathon. So far he has raised over £700 for Golden Futures - well done Seth!

Hello!

This week saw my training programme officially come to an end. The last month or so has been really tough because I’ve been experiencing a couple of injury niggles. I’ve decided to rest my body until the day of the marathon. Let's hope it pays off!

Even with a few setbacks I have still managed to cover quite a lot of ground and I’ve run my longest distances to date. This has partly been down to my new fitness watch, which has enabled me to improve my pacing. Also, the weather has made an enormous difference because I’ve been able to train for longer without getting too cold or wet.

I still regularly take part in Parkrun and have been a bit of a Parkrun tourist over recent months having been to Lincoln and Wolverhampton’s Parkruns. Now that my running schedule has finished I have been able to volunteer too, like at yesterday's Cambridge Parkrun.

​​On a side note, earlier this month I took part in the Chariots of Fire race in Cambridge. The annual charity event involves teams of six each running a 1.6 mile course. I was part of a group representing Anglia Ruskin University's business school, dressed in Where's Wally attire! Chariots of Fire was an overwhelming success raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK. The route passed through the picturesque grounds of Trinity, Kings and Clare colleges which was a real treat. Our team were even photographed in the Cambridge News.

​​As always, if you can support my fundraising efforts, please do so here. I will hopefully receive my personalised marathon t-shirt next week. I will of course post some photos in my next update before the big day.

Seth