Less than a week to go and it's all gone to the dogs

Less than one week to go: the distance training has now finished and I am well in to the taper period. I still run 4 times a week, but gradually shorter distances and at a slower 'super plod' pace too.

The fear of injury or illness is now at the forefront of my mind and at times I feel sick with nerves. Quite frankly I want to get the marathon over and done with now.

I decided a while back to mark my marathon milestone by raising some funds for the Dogs Trust charity. But I decided only at the last couple of weeks to request sponsorship, when I knew that I had done the training, and as far as I could establish, I would indeed be on the starting line.

I have 2 rescued lurcher dogs, Tom and Alice, who are very dear to me. They were abandoned, left tied to a tree in a field in Ireland back in 2004. They were found, but then placed on the 7 day 'death row' by the organisation that had found them. Thankfully, they were saved in time and brought to the UK and ended up living with me.

Organisations such as the Dogs Trust work hard to find new homes for abandoned dogs and never put down a healthy dog. My research has found that the Dogs Trust spends money raised wisely, but I think that's because of the level of responsibility they have. I would love to show my support for this organisation, so that more dogs like Tom and Alice can have a future. Thanks for your kind support... http://www.justgiving.com/Nick-Bowler

My race number arrived the other day (not sure why my race number is so low?!?). And I've signed up for social media updates too - so my result and my half way split times will be automatically posted on facebook.

I also had chance to pop up to Chester and drive the marathon route alongside my fellow Chester runners Larry and Richard with chief marathon logistics manager and supporter Laura. So a few hours of collective worrying about the route (It may start and fnish in the same place, but it looks uphill all the way) has meant the reality is here (especially when seeing the road signs giving advance warning of the forthcoming road closures).

So the next week will be spent avoiding people with colds, studying the race pack cover to cover. Re-checking the hotel booking, counting my gels, checking the weather forecast, clearing down the memory in my Garmin and so on. The countdown continues...