I wasn't going to raise money for charity this time around.  I got a place in the marathon through the ballot, and was delighted to have the chance to run without having to once again ask my friends and colleagues to sponsor me.

Then I heard about David.

David is the beautiful 1 year old son of Jonny and Patricia Dee.  I knew Jonny from my FZY days, and was very upset to hear that their little boy has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a horrible degenerative, and often fatal, disease which generally affects small children.  He cannot sit up unaided, and is unlikely to ever walk.  There’s a video of David here. 

 A glimmer of hope for the Dee family, and for other families that have been hit by this terrible affliction, is the research being undertaken by the SMA Trust.  They are working to prolong the lives of SMA patients, and to even potentially find a cure.

 When I heard about this, I felt compelled to join Team David and raise some money for the SMA Trust.  I hope that you will also feel compelled to support this cause.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.