Well it appears I will not be running the next London Marathon after all. Cheques have been clearing the bank since the Friday before last but as yet nothing has left my bank account. Actually I tell I lie my credit card bill was paid of and at an account very similar to the entrance fee and for all of 15 seconds my hopes were high. But it wasn't to be. The bottom line being there are only so many place available via the ballot and it would seem that one of them is not destined to be mine.

My plan in case this scenario was to occur was to purchase a travel package. Foreign tour operators have deals whereby if you purchase your hotel room via them at 100 percent inflated prices they have start places to sell to you. For a one off this expense could perhaps be incurred. Except for the fact that they are sold out.

That leaves the Golden Bond route. Charities can buy start place at a cost of 250 pounds. These are then offered on to runners who can pledge to raise a minimum of anywhere between 1000 and 1500 pounds. Setting aside the moral of asking people for donations for one charity while knowing around 20 percent would be heading in a completely different direction, they is a much larger problem with this choice. I do not believe I could raise this much.

Given that I can´t run a marathon under 3 hours and claim an automatic start place or that I do not wish to run as a bandit I have no choice but to put of London until another year. Stockholm is therefore my next marathon in the summer of 2004 and the process of keeping fingers crossed for a reduced bank balance will begin all over again next November.