I, very foolishly, dived straight in to pick up my marathon survival pack from the Lucozade Sport stand (we were all given vouchers) and parted with my £8 to receive a ridiculous amount of goodies. Of course it weighed a ton (it all being liquid) and I ended up standing around while Sally tried on everything she saw.

Dotted around the Excel centre were big boards absolutely full of good luck messages for friends, family and loved ones. There was a huge feeling of camaraderie. Everyone there had a common goal, some looking very nervous and others who were taking a chance to stock up on some discounted running goodies from the stands, but all smiling and very eager.

What can you expect if you’re going? Pasta, lots of pasta. At the back of the room there was a Pasta Party in progress. Bring a bit of cash and you can attend and listen to a few presentations on the stage. There are also two opportunities to get a quick sports massage (one from Addidas and one from the students of Middlesex University). I did neither. I’m scared witless of damaging something before Sunday so I declined.

There are also loads of places to pick up marathon gadgets like GPS watches, shoe wallets, mp3 player holders and bum-bags so if you need any last minute accessories then this is the place to be. If you have to, you can also get almost any running trainer available, but obviously for after the marathon as you shouldn’t be trying anything new for race day.

For the charity runners among you there is a Justgiving stand, where you can enter a competition for a donation. The challenge, draw a picture of yourself and your Justgiving page (some examples here). Sally did mine while I had my photo taken with John and Jon from Justgiving. John played my video through his iPhone while Jon tweeted about it!

So what do you get in the London Marathon Expo goodie bags? A can of London Pride (for the night after), a jar of cranberry juice, 2 sugar free sweets, foot cream, a granola bar, deodorant, some massage gel and a LOT of leaflets. Not bad when you couple it with the amount of goodies you can pick up on the day.

However, my advice is, if you have to go on Saturday then try and get round everything as fast as you can. There’s a lot to see and do but not a lot of places to sit down. Like every major shopping venue, the floors are rock hard and it’ll tire you out quickly (the last thing you want before the marathon when you should be resting)…

This will be my last post before the marathon (tomorrow will be spent on the sofa doing as little as possible). I’d just like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has read and commented on this blog. I’ve enjoyed every minute of writing it and the tips, advice and encouragement I’ve received has been overwhelming. Please come back after the marathon and I’ll let you know how I got on.

For those that aren’t running, Adidas have a system that allows you to track the people you know as they go round using the timing chips attached to their shoes. Just enter their number in to this website. Mine is 41333.

To all those running on Sunday, if you spot me then please come and say hello. I admire anyone who has the determination to train for as many months as it takes to complete a marathon and I’d love to chat to you. I’ll have Sir Jog A Lot written on the back of my vest and will be in the Red area. If I don’t see you then the best of luck to you…

It’s about time for a quick update on the marathon efforts so far:

• 24
  The number of hours training I’ve clocked up since I began in early January.  To be exact, 24 hours and 57 minutes. Too many of those were on a treadmill.
   
• 7
  The number of pounds I’ve gained in weight since I began training. See the Why am I gaining weight blog post.
    
• 938
  The number of pounds (that’s ‘£’s) that I’ve managed to collate in sponsorship for the MS Society. Over 2 months to go until race day so that’s not bad going. I’d just like to take this moment to thank those who have sponsored me and apologise to those who I’ll be emailing personally at the end of this month (after pay day). The email will begin with,     ”Long time no speak. The last time I saw you was *insert witty banter here*. Anyway…”
• 900
  The number of visitors to this blog I’ve had so far. One of the benefits of wordpress.com is that it comes with all sorts of statistics you can keep your eye on. This includes the top google search queries that have resulted in hits to your blog. Here are my favourites:   1.  ”is my ankle broken?”
  2. “full size john wayne photos”
  3. “nipple trainers”
  4. “bulge in gray jogging bottoms”
  5. (my personal favourite) “rik waller nude“ 
• 3
  The number of pieces of coverage this blog has had so far. These include…   1. The Justgiving London marathon page (Sir Jog A Lot is featured)
  2. The Justgiving London marathon page (Sir Jog A Lot is interviewed)
  3. The MS Society marathon e-newsletter and I quote,”James Barnard, aka “Sir Jog a Lot”, is one of the MS Society Gold Bonders this year and he has set up a blog so popular its even been featured in Justgiving’s London Marathon pages! It includes loads of great fundraising advice, as well as regular updates on his training progress.“
• 1
  The number of races I’ve signed up to between now and the Flora London Marathon 2009. I’ll be running in the Eastbourne half-marathon on Sunday 1st March so expect a blog post or two on my efforts there.

Here ends the narcissistic rant. Thanks to all who have found this blog interesting/useful and I hope my big head hasn’t put you off. Confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings…