NOW LET ME BE QUITE CLEAR: I AM NOT MOVING THE GOALPOSTS!  The thing is that work has cut its match-funding from £500 to £250, so the sponsorship needed from real people to make £2000 has had to rise from £1500 to £1750.

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.  I will be running the London Marathon - my first ever marathon - in April 2009!

I am raising money for the Brain and Spine Foundation, the charity for which we collected at the funeral of Janice Maynard, my aunt, in 2006.

Over one in 100 people go about their daily lives unaware that they have potentially fatal flaws in the blood vessels of their brain.  These 'aneurysms' may burst at any time (but are particularly prone to do so if placed under stress).  The bursting of an aneurysm is known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage.  If blood vessels experience such a haemorrhage, blood floods out and crushes the brain against the walls of the skull.

A subarachnoid haemorrhage is a particular disaster because it's often fatal - as many as 30 per cent die within hours, and a further 30 per cent die within the first month.  While a stroke at any age is a terrible occurence, the tragedy of a subarachnoid haemorrhage is that it frequently occurs in young adults.  There's often little or no warning that a subarachnoid haemorrhage is about to occur: typically, the person suddenly collapses with a headache.

After decades of being viewed as a fairly hopeless condition where only a little positive treatment could be done, new approaches are at last starting to make some impact on recovery rates from the haemorrhages.  For example, research has found that the brain can be re-wired following a haemorrhage allowing regained use of previously unused limbs.

The Brain and Spine Foundation was set up to help the 10 million people affected by brain and spine conditions in the UK and relies on donations to continue its important work.  Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Brain and Spine Foundation gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Please sponsor me now!

Thanks,

Chris