Blisters have healed, muscles now work again and I am suffering post-marathon blues as I try to adjust to normality after a wonderful four months.

Weeks have passed since the London Marathon gave me and thousands of others an incredible day out and it is about now that charities across Britain and beyond begin to benefit from the millions pledged in sponsorship.

There are so many memories to cherish of my great experience.

But I think what will stay with me longest is the achievements of two other competitors, Major Phil Packer and Shropshire runner Michael McCarthy.

The 33-year-old ,from Weston-under-Redcastle, is registered blind and hemiplegic, meaning he has the use of only one side.

He completed the marathon with his guide, Anne-Marie Brennan, in eight hours and 43 minutes.

As they fell further and further behind the crowds grew sparser and Michael was forced to get help from first aiders for his badly blistered feet.

But he refused to give up even when the roads re-opened and he and Anne-Marie were forced to weave their way along the pavements through the thousands who had turned out for the event.

It was 6pm when an exhaused Michael finally crossed the finish line and as officials placed his medal around his neck, watched by his emotional family, Michael said simply: “This is a dream come true.”

His amazing achievement has raised thousands of pounds for the Oswestry-based Shropshire Federation for Disabled Cricketers but he has also raised an awareness of the incredible lengths people will go to achieve their dreams.

Major Phil Packer was another hero of the 2009 marathon.

He was injured in an incident following a rocket attack in Basra in February last year. He lost the use of his legs and was originally told he would never walk again.

But his determination made him vow he would take part in the Flora London Marathon for the Help the Heroes charity.

Only just having made his first faltering steps in the weeks before the marathon, he set out on crutches on April 26 and travelled the course at an agonising two miles a day to receive his medal within the two weeks he set himself.

That is determination.

• As Sue’s marathon journey finally comes to an end, she will remain one of the Shropshire Star bloggers, casting a female eye over the stories of the day.