Miscellanea: Living with a marathon runner

survey was being conducted. This hampered the normal flow ofdata between observer and recorder and may have accounted for the imbalance between east and west. Further distractions included the inconsiderate appearance of an occupant in the middle of a site recording and a large poster requesting information on Tip the cat was nearly mistaken for a shoddy plate. At the high frontier of human endeavour there will always be many more questions raised-.than can be answered satisfactorily. We hope, however, that this study in its own small way will help to stimulate and encourage further work into this unusual though fascinating field of medical-research. Our 22 year marriage was put under its most severe strain when one evening at the theatre, just as the play was about to begin, my husband whispered, "I heard this morning that I have got into the London Marathon." My enforcedly muted response combined' alarm, anxiety, and disbelief. He was a jogger-regular two and a halfmiles a day-and had applied :X'...'. ; twice already for the marathon. i The polite rejection slips that he had received then had lulled me into assung that the computer-f f i S was o my side. Surely it realised '4 that le was beynd the age ' when y sensible person would attempt his first on? The ftter from the organisers, however, was unambiguous acceptance, congratuLlations, and sensible advice. For a while we were all-rather secretive about it. My husband thought that-it could. be^ kept within the family and that iis eccentricity need not be revealed to the world. It soon became clear, however, that selection bring-with it the opportunity, which rapidly develops into the responsibility , to raise money for charity. He chose the Mental Health' Foundation, with which he had been associated for some timend which reflects his professional interests. The sponsorship provided, a valuable spur to the training programme. Going out in the icy mornings of February and March was slightly easier when it was associated with the "the g6od cause" and "not letting the side down." At weekends he gradually raised the milage. Twenty one miles in the teeth of a gale along Brighton sea front and 25 miles in somewhat better conditions in Londo raised his confidence'and reduced my anxiety. The marathon weekend itself is already part of the Crown family folklore. On Saturday we went to Parsifal. I had doubts about the wisdom …