UPDATE: I've had to withdraw from the Great North Run due to a stomach bug, but to honour all of your generous pledges, I will be registering for another half marathon shortly - Birmingham on the 21st October looks a likely candidate, although the Bridlington half marathon looks like a nice day out at the seaside! THIS PAGE WILL STAY ACTIVE FOR 3 MONTHS AFTER THE GREAT NORTH RUN

I'm running the Great North Run to raise money for Child Bereavement Charity. CBC is a national organisation that coordinates a network of workers who offer support to people in times of bereavement - parents who lose a child, or children who lose a parent.

I'm running this in memory of someone I knew who unexpectedly took his own life, leaving a wife and two children behind. It's hard to put a positive spin on this, but I just think that when the worst happens, the best we can hope for is that there are people there who can help those left behind make sense of a terrible situation.

I think that Child Bereavement Charity offers that, so please dig deep and donate now.