John Knapman has bravely decided to run the London Marathon on 13th April 2003. As part of the clubs support of this notable effort, We will publish John's training diary here for all to read. Anyone wishing to sponsor John should click here . For further info on the marathon or the charities that John is running for, please click on the logos.

11 January 2003 Hello everybody, long time since I wrote the first part of my diary so I thought I better stop running for a minute and write an update as to how everything is going!! December was a bit of a no go in terms of training, I was still going to the gym but just doing weights, not really good practice for running 26.2 miles. I was still going physio and wanted to get the all clear before going for it massively! The physio was making me do loads of short sharp sprints and it was killing me!! I didn't have the guts to tell him i was doing the marathon for about three sessions cos I think that he may have fell over laughing due to my lack of fitness!! The weekends had been flying past, Edwards and Envy were my only training in December. I think the North Romford drinking crew were being a bad influence on me (you know who you are!!). Even when i don't go out Mark rings me to let me know when certain songs come on!! I still feel that Edwards and Envy have a big part to play in my training though (I call it RELAXATION therapy). I also think the fun bus will play a big part in the coming months...when is the next one?? (although i did ruin them according to Mark, due to certain girls claiming that being around me would be to awkward!!!!! HAHA) Anyway I digress!! After new year round Suttons (it was a gathering not a PARTY!!!). I decided that I needed to sort my life out and start running (Even Spicey joined my gym!!!). So here is my schedule for the last week!! Monday 6th January - 40 mins easy run!! (spicey kept me company!!) Tuesday 7th January - 45 Mins Fartlek! this was a killer, 6 minutes really quick followed by 3 minutes walking, repeated 5 times!! My legs felt like JELLY (no laughing neville and sutton!) Wednesday 8th January - REST DAY (i was loving it, Granny Ivy cooked me beef stew and dumplings!!!) Thursday 8th January - 50 Minutes steady run! - this was with Neville who blagged me into fitness first. This was suprisingly the easiest run I had done... Probably cos i had neville to the side of me doing what i did on Tuesday!! Should have seen the sweat on poor Nev, I nearly had to swim my last 20 minutes he was dripping next to me so much!! Friday 9th January - REST DAY - I had Pizza, Chinese, Pringles all sorts....GOOD DIET! Saturday 10th January - Bought myself some new pumps, they are well busy, so I thought I better test them out! I ran about 6 or 7 miles in an hour. Outdoors is quite a lot harder than the treadmill, avoiding dog shi*, and slipping on Ice were my main problems!! Sunday 11th January - So here I am writing the diary on my rest day ready for a repeat of last week starting tomorrow! So there it is, that is what I have been up to, haven't seen many of you since new year so lets get out in Romford and do some dancing soon... Like REALLY dancing!! Anyway, Happy new year to everyone, speak to you all soon! JK

02 December 2002 This is the start of my Marathon Diary. I'm gonna take you on a journey into the world of training to run 26.2 miles!! Apart from wanting to win it, I feel that I must control that desire and just think of finishing it first and fore most and if I come in the top three it will be a great achievement. Thats not strictly true.... what are my real targets??? Target One is to raise over £1000, this money will be split between two charities both of which have a meaning... The first is the Bobby Moore Fund , this is a cancer charity and will be in tribute to my Papa Fred (grandad!) who died of cancer when I was 11 also for the recent death of Trevor's Wife Sharon. The other Charity will be the British Heart Foundation , this is for my Grandad Jack who died of a heart attack and also for Dal Murray who died of the same cause.... As both my grandads were Hammers I have decided to wear a West Ham shirt on the day!!!! As a tribute to the above people I am gonna print their surnames on the back of the shirt (not sure how Dal the tottscum fan would feel about this but i'm sure he would see the funny side!) Target Two: Is to complete the marathon in under 4 hours. Although I will be happy just to finish it and raise loads of money, i thought I may as well aim for a good time also!! Target Three: Possibly the most serious of them all is to a) not lose to anyone over the age of 75 b) to beat at least one kenyan to the finish line!!!!!!! I doubt i'll do either!! I am definitely not losing to a man carrying a canoe or wearing a diving kit though!!!! So training starts from today (going to watch West Ham play Southampton!) Guess I'll have to run on the spot for 90 minutes (that will probably be of more interest than watching the hammers at the moment!!). Anyway I will let you know my progress next week with news on how my dodgy hamstring is holding up and any HI's or LOW's I have experienced!! I am now going to meet Paula Radcliffe for a drink!! JK