I’m pleased to inform you all that Claire successfully ran the marathon yesterday, completing in a fantastic 4.5 hours – well done girl! She also overachieved on her target of £5,000 by pulling in a total of £5,151 which is an amazing figure. This money will go towards funding the important work that PETA does for animals, so thank you to everybody who sponsored her. Meanwhile, I sat on my lazybones backside writing about her valiant efforts, but maybe I’ll manage to get myself fit and do it next year.

And did you hear about the pig that flew across London the other day?

Here’s Claire giving an interview to Friction TV just before she started the gruelling 26 miles (through the rain, no less).

Here’s the very last entry from the lovely Claire who is running the marathon this Sunday. I have a lump in my throat for her as the days tick away, I’m probably more nervous than she is. Ok, maybe not but I wish her the best of luck and we’d love to see some supporters down at the event on the day cheering her little legs on.

“Arghhhh, the marathon is on Sunday! I’m very, very excited and a little nervous. I’ve not been able to sleep for days now; my right foot and left knee may hurt but I’m too excited to care. I have a few people from work coming along to cheer me on at the start, and my family at the finish line to take me home in a stretcher at the end of it (just kidding, here’s hoping I can still feel my legs by the end of it). I would just like to thank everyone for their support, kind words and donations….of course there is still time to donate if you would like to! Just click the link at the bottom of this entry and empty your virtual pockets into the animal saving pot - all donations are very gratefully received… Oh and Paddy, in response to your comment, I will try my hardest to speak to the BBC! For anyone there on the day or watching on TV, I’ll have the PETA logo pinned onto me so you might spot me in the crowd. I’ll make you and the animals proud! Now, wish me luck….”

Click on the tags below to chart Claire’s progress through her training.

Here’s an update from Claire who is running the marathon in just over one week:

“Well, I have had a few disasters of late, one being over Easter running round the countryside where my parents live and really hurting my foot! I had to phone my mum to come and pick me up… The other, a few days later, getting a chest infection. So, I have been out of action for a while – but luckily my ‘tapering weeks’ had begun (this is where you begin to decrease mileage). I have a lot of long runs behind me and have learnt pretty much everything that my body needs (from the carb gels, enough water, lots of stretching, shoes that are too big and anti chaffing gel!) that I am confident I can do this. Plus, I have a few more days of running left. I now get to eat lots and lots of carbs in preparation. Right now I’m eating crisps, no seriously, it’s allowed - carbs and salt, brilliant!”

Claire is unable to write her guest entry this week but I thought I’d give you an update on how this lovely lady is doing in the run-up to the London Marathon on the 13th April. She tells me she has hurt her foot but it is on the mend and raring to go again. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – Claire, we’re all so proud of you and what you’re doing to help the animals. She still has a way to go to reach her target of £5,000 so please consider sponsoring her and in turn helping all the animals PETA works to protect. Out of interest, let me know if anyone else is running the marathon…

We’re all getting so excited about Claire running the marathon for PETA in four weeks. Let’s take a sneaky peek at what she’s been getting up to…

“Last week I did my first 20 miler. I was a lot more prepared this time and had a stock up of energy gels (I’ve discovered a really nice one, I don’t know if you remember that liquid bubble gum you got in a tube years ago - it tastes just like that!) and I plotted my route so I could fill up at water fountains along the way. It was a good run except I have the blackest toenail in the world and some chaffing in very odd places. I’m definitely going to book myself in for a pedicure as soon as this is over. I’ve noticed that after three hours of running “the wall” kicks in. If anyone has any tips on combating that, do let me know. Oh and pray for miserable weather on 13th April, I’ve been training through rain and gale force winds so not sure how I’ll cope with sunny weather!”

I have to say, everyone at PETA is so proud of Claire for her incredibly hard work leading up to the marathon in April. Here’s an update from the kind-hearted missus herself:

“Well, I spoke too soon as I had the worst run ever on Sunday. I went back home for the weekend so thought I’d take the opportunity to run in the countryside but I just wasn’t prepared at all. I didn’t have any time to go out and buy some of those energy gels so thought I’d get by on two sports drinks…wrong! Firstly they wouldn’t fit in my running belt and kept falling out, so I had to hold them both whilst running but after two miles I got so angry with it all that I hid one of the bottles in the woods for my return.

Two hours in I had drunk both bottles and was flagging, so I deviated from my route and went back to my parents to fill up on water. After downing about half a litre of water (which I really shouldn’t have done) I went back out and thought I was going to faint. I had to cut the run short and only did about 18 miles. I did not reach any kind of ‘zone’ in the whole three hours. Oh, and I have ANOTHER blister. Anyway, it taught me a valuable lesson - always be prepared.

Here is a tasty recipe from Runner’s World. They talk about the importance of a whole-food diet (not all veggie though) and if you would like to see the article in full sign up on the Runner’s World website:

Curried lentils with butternut squash
190g dry lentils
1 butternut squash
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp chilli powder

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Pour the lentils into a deep pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water to boil, reduce the heat, and add raw chunks of the squash (leave the skin on, remember!). Simmer for one hour (or until the squash is soft).

After an hour of simmering, remove from heat, drain and set aside. With tongs, pull out the chunks of squash and mash them roughly.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a large bowl, mix the lentils and mashed squash with the olive oil and the spices (including a bit of salt and pepper to taste). Spoon the mixture into the baking dish.

Bake for around 20 minutes until piping hot. Serve warm with spinach or cabbage.

Per serving (serves 2-4)
Calories: 530
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 94g
Protein: 32g

Here’s an update from Claire, the PETA staff member who is running the marathon to raise money and awareness for animals all over the world:

“Last Sunday I ran 18 miles… 18 MILES! I’m so pleased and think I’m beginning to crack this marathon lark - piece of (vegan) cake. I jest, of course, it’s still hard going. The first hour was excruciating, but then I really enjoyed the last 2 hours as I entered the ‘zone’. This week I have started experimenting with different animal-friendly isotonic energy drinks to help me through the hours. I’ve discovered these bizarre gels which you rip open and gulp down as you run – obviously easier than downing a couple of bananas.

I said last week that I would talk about nutrition, well I admit I’ve not been that good this week so I’ll talk more on this next week! Next week I will provide you with a vegan recipe which they printed in Runners World – the runners’ bible - the other month.

An email went out to all of our supporters this week telling everyone that I am running the marathon. I have been completely overwhelmed with the amount of support and donations I have been getting. I would like to thank everyone for their kindness – it’s really spurring me on and I hope to raise as much as I can for the animals. I’ve raised almost £2,000 already - fantastic!”

Remember, you can donate at Claire’s Bmycharity.com page. Every penny is welcome - thanks everbody!

Welcome to the first entry of our new guest blogger Claire, who will be running the marathon in April for PETA. For one entry each week she will be taking over my blog (the cheek!) and telling you all about her progress as she battles her way through the miles to reach her goal. Claire hopes to raise £5,000 for PETA and every penny will help the millions of animals abused across the world – so dig deep and read on…

“Hello! My name is Claire and I’ve been working at PETA for almost a year. When the chance to do the marathon came up I decided to go for it as:

a) I took up running a year and a half ago and a marathon was my ultimate goal
b) I really wanted to do a marathon before I hit 30 (a few months away!), and
c) it’s an amazing opportunity to raise money for all the animals who need our help.

Little did I realise the emotional ups and downs that training would have on me! I now have 6 weeks left of training. The first month was hard going (even though I was running distances I was used to, sticking to a rigorous training schedule was difficult to an inherently lazy person such as myself, my head would often shout “I just want to watch Hollyoaks!”). The preceding weeks I LOVED especially my long runs on a Sunday, having begun to master my mind and get into a zone – as you can tell I have been reading a lot self help books on getting through your first marathon - but then disaster struck.

I was out with an injury for 2 weeks. So I bought some new shoes and started running again last week. The guy in the running store told me I really should have shoes that are a size and a half too big to allow for swelling and to ensure my toenails don’t fall off (Alexia – eww, gross). I do feel like I am running in clown shoes but my toenails are fine, thank goodness. Over the next few weeks I will be running a lot of miles, often between 18-20 miles per session. I now have to ensure I am eating right - more on this soon…”

Please support Claire by donating at Bmycharity.com