This year’s Marathon day dawned unpromisingly, but by the time the 122 runners from the Spinal Research team lined up at their allotted starting points the sun was shining and the temperature was rising. These runners had braved months of appalling weather, flu epidemics and the usual running injuries to be there and they were rewarded with a glorious, if slightly too warm day and fantastic crowds. The excitement was tangible, not least because Paula Radcliffe was about to make history with her record-breaking run.

Despite the warm day many runners were more than happy with their speeds. Paul Dungate was the first of our team to finish in a brilliant 2:54:31 with Jonathan Clare, who runs every year for us and raises vast sums every time, finishing not far behind him in 3:04:27.

Many runners experienced difficulties getting to the starting line on time but few could match Jamie Vassallo’s determination to be there. Jamie lives in Kuwait but has spent the last year working in the UK. With the outbreak of the Iraq war, he found himself stranded here and lived for several weeks in a hotel. This did not disrupt his training and he completed the Marathon in 3:19:22. Not only that, he was one of the first to send in his sponsorship money – a magnificent £2,295.20! Well done, Jamie!

Every member of the team was determined to make their race count, and, as a result of their dedication and sheer hard work, we are already up to £135K, and money is still coming in. Several of our Marathon runners have achieved staggering personal totals as a result of their sponsorship campaigns and just a few of them are mentioned here:

• Bridget Huggett [this year’s highest fundraiser], aided by her sister Annie Maw [who suffers from a spinal cord injury] and by her cousin, Alex Burton, who also ran in our team. They have already raised an amazing £13,798.29, with more money due to come in from Gift Aid.

• Our Spanish team Jane Savin, Poppy Pickersgill and Paul Sen raised a staggering £10,521.92.

• Rosanna Redmond; inspired by her brother who was injured in a building-site accident raised £7,141.74 - thanks to the generous support of the building community back in Ireland.

• Tony Arthurton’s inspiration was a close friend, who was injured in a car accident and his total to date is an impressive £3,568.33.

• Once again our long-standing supporter, Jonathan Clare, has sent in a fantastic £4,788. – well done Jonathan.

• Equally faithful to our cause is the untiring Peter Eves who has sent in £3,031.40.

• Marie Duffy was dogged by illness leading up to the event but was absolutely determined to give it a go. After 10 miles, though, she realised that all was not well and sensibly withdrew to the care of a nearby St John’s Ambulance team. It was a tremendous disappointment for her but thankfully, she has recovered well and in true Marie style has still managed to raise her pledged amount.

A significant number of runners have raised in excess of £2,000; an impressive proportion of the team has achieved £1,500, all of these have exceeded the pledge target of £1,000.

Some of the runners reached their target through generous company or trust donations. Others have achieved it through collecting a large number of small donations and many runners had great fun along the way:

• Mary Crabb held her annual disco which raised about £700
• Irene Ernoult had the novel idea of running 42 miles with a couple of colleagues on a treadmill in one of Guildford’s shopping centres, raising £376.15
• Steve and Heather Smith boosted their fundraising efforts by selling their exquisite Flora London Marathon 2003 souvenir bobbins
• Many runners raised significant amounts on-line, enabling them to target friends and relations from further afield. Several of the pages were highly entertaining - well done for using this resource so imaginatively!

As in past years, the Spinal Research stand was set up opposite the Tooke Arms in West Ferry Road, where we were warmly welcomed by the Dady family, landlords of the pub, who supplied some lively karaoke and brought a smile to many a tired face. Bananas [generously donated by Geest] and Mars bars are handed out to runners as they pass.

Marathon Day would be nothing without our runners, but we are also most grateful to our dedicated band of supporters, many of whom turn up year after year to cheer our team on. Heading the team is the amazing Janet Robson, co-founder of the Runners Network with her husband Mike. Despite officially being in retirement Janet still gives us unstinting support at events and in the office. Every one of our volunteers who helped out played an important part in making the day a success.

Finally, Spinal Research sends its congratulations and warmest thanks to every runner who took part and we look forward to seeing many of you again next year!