Express & Star

Marathon was ultimate challenge for me, I loved it

I made it. On Sunday, the BeanMachine ran 26.2 miles of London's finest tarmac in 4 hours, 52 minutes and 50 seconds. And, do you know what? I absolutely loved it.

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Team Bean nailed the London Marathon. It was a massive day and gave me such a rush. By the time I made it back to Shropshire, I was tired, hungry and happy. I've never experienced an event quite like it.

I ran Sunday's marathon for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

My grandad's sister suffered with MND for many years and it's such a horrible disease. There's no cure and I was determined to raise as much money as possible to be able to help the charity and anyone with MND.

I set myself a target of £1,500 and, with the help of people in Shropshire and around the UK, I smashed it.

Tackling the marathon was a huge challenge. The furthest I had ever run in my life before was a half marathon. While that experience helped – I was used to the big city build-up, having run the Great North Run – running the full distance was a completely different ball game.

I got my place months ago and trained as much as I could. But, to be honest, trying to fit in training was tough. For months, I was trying to combine the occasional run with working every day at the New Inn, in Baschurch, plus running Brompton Cookery School and Bed and Breakfast, on the Naitonal Trust's Attingham Estate.

It was a big challenge for me but I was determined to see it through and help people with MND. My pain was a small price to pay to help people with that terrible disease.

I managed to get out of the kitchen as often as possible to keep in shape. My longest training run was an 18-mile monster – and after running that I was convinced I'd be able to complete the marathon.

I spend a lot of time in London, filming for ITV This Morning, but that didn't stop me from training. I even went running with one of my TV friends, Ben Shephard – I was determined to stay in shape. I set myself a target of five hours – and thankfully I smashed that too.

As well as collecting sponsorship, I also organised a demo-and-dine evening at Brompton Cookery School, where people paid £80-a-head to watch me cook them a gourmet supper. I was grateful to all of the family, friends and loyal customers who supported it.

At the end of the day, it all came down to running well on Sunday. I travelled to London last Saturday after my wife, Jenny, had made me a huge breakfast before I set off. Eggs, sausages, beans, black pudding, toast, tomatoes – you name it, I ate it.

The race seemed to fly past. It was like a dream. The streets were lined with happy, smiling faces and so many people cheered me on it was almost unbelievable. It was a warm, sunny day and I arrived at the start in my blue running vest, white jacket and shades. The race flew past. I ran part of it with Matt Johnson, from ITV's This Morning, I loved every minute. I went through the first 5k in under 30 minutes, and by the halfway mark I'd run 2.17.06 – I was on course to beat my target. When I eventually crossed the line, the clock on the gantry said 4.52.50. I was completely chuffed.

During the run at times I felt emotional but to see so many people pushing themselves to the limit to raise money for their selected charity was amazing. I had saved energy to increase my pace during the last mile, so that I could run through the finish with my head held high. Afterwards, I felt emotional, tired and sunburned.

I had one thing left to do before I rushed back to Shropshire: that was to meet an amazing guy who I met through Twitter. He was also running for Motor Neurones Disease Association and his name was Mark Maddox. He had been diagnosed with MND two years ago. I was so inspired by him that I had to meet him and I'm glad that I did. He was an amazing guy fighting a horrible disease. He had an amazing family, too. All in all, it was an incredible day.

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