State of Play...

[Sweder]

There should be quite a cheerleading group in London, Suzie.
Both Andy & I will be hobbling along after our exertions in Zurich and Paris respectively. SP will no doubt be testing the latest digital image capture device (and waving pints in your general direction) and, unless he's rock-climbing in darkest Peru (or, just as likely, has sneakily entered the race!) Nigel might be persuaded to join us.

SP, I feel your pain. You and I have talked about this and I know you've made the right choice for you. To be honest I couldn't face another FLM this year. I wasn't even that excited about Paris until that race became a potential stepping stone to an altogether different challenge.

I have you to thank for this whole madness.
You got me thinking I could rise from the couch to tackle a marathon (bloody Guinness again!), trained with me, got me into RC and the mystical wisdon of Andy and Nigel and helped me achieve goals I could never have dreamed of. As a result of that blasted afternoon in The Chalk Pit a new and incredible world opened up to me.

I get the impression you feel bad in some way about your decision: don't. Andy said it - it's right for you right now. You've been there, done that, got the T-Shirt (three, actually). You've looked deep into yourself under the most extreme pressure and found yourself equal to one of the ultimate challenges. You are and will always be a marathon runner.

The relief of making your decision will lift a great weight from your shoulders (if not your middle) and you can, if you fancy it, take on the occasional race for fun.

That is, after all, what this is supposed to be about.
Good on you mate.