£12,000 CONQUERED!

Jason Nettle, director of Winchester Garden Machinery, is this year undertaking the challenge of 12 marathons in 12 months for good causes. Here he updates us he reaches towards the end of his challenge - smashing his original fundraising target.

Hi everyone,

I have some absolutely incredible news: Thanks to every single one of you, we have not only hit my original fundraising target of £10,000, but we have blown past the new goal and hit £12,000!

To everyone who has donated, shared, cheered, or simply laughed at my expense - thank you. This monumental effort proves what we can achieve when we pull together. Every single pound is going directly to Cancer Research UK, Prostate Cancer UK, Naomi House Children’s Hospice and St. Michael's Hospice.

I also have an update on the latest pain session: I successfully completed the Wight Lines Marathon last weekend, finishing in 5 hours and 59 minutes. That's it - only two more to go until December!

Running: A very complicated relationship

As the finish line of this challenge approaches, people keep asking if I've started to enjoy running yet. The honest answer? I can't say I do. Maybe it's the pressure of having to pull another full marathon out of the bag every month. Maybe it's the fact that I've approached this challenge with the training regime of a particularly lazy sloth. Or maybe, just maybe, running simply isn't my calling.

The physical pain is constant, the mental battle is relentless and the weather is definitely turning against me. But the pressure and the expectations - whether internal or external - are definitely a huge factor in why I haven't found that elusive "runner's high."

That’s okay. The reason I started this ridiculous challenge was never about finding a new hobby. It was about creating a hook, a strange feat of endurance, to encourage conversations about men's health and, most importantly, to raise vital funds.

I'm incredibly grateful to FGM Claymore for sponsoring this month's ordeal. Your support truly helped push me through what was an incredibly tough mental and physical grind.

Two more to go!

With two marathons left, the end is truly in sight. The body is battered, the feet are bruised, but the motivation has never been stronger.

Thank you again for helping us sail past £12,000. Let’s see how far we can push this final total!

If you haven't yet sponsored me, now is the perfect time to help us maximise the final total.