Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

Having staggered across the finish line in 2003 I vowed never to run the London Marathon (or any other marathon for that matter) again. I'd done three and thought that was quite enough for one lifetime. The next couple of years were taken up with marriage, the arrival of children and self-employment - my running shoes slowly gathered dust underneath the stairs.

When I heard that my friends Karl and Clair had a second son, Ross, born with a severe form of epilepsy, it really hit home as a parent myself - especially as Fin, their first, was born a few weeks before our first son Sam, and our second Thomas ws on the way when Ross arrived. I wanted to feel like I could give something more than heartfelt sympathy.

You can find out more about Ross here: Archie's Mountain Blog

So here I am again. Looking forward to waking up on Boxing Day, peeling the tongue from the top of my mouth, propping open my eyes with matchsticks and running the Pirton Boxing Day 3.2; looking forward to the driving rain and wind of January; looking forward to the three pairs of trainers, 120 litres of Lucozade Sport and the 535 miles that make up my 5 month training programme. That's like running from London to Aberdeen. The 26.2 miles that make up the marathon on 26 April should be the easy part.

So why am I running it again? I'm running it because I want to know I still can. I'm running it to help the 465,000 people in the UK (and their families) who suffer from epilepsy. But most importantly, I'm running for Ross.

There are many different types of epilepsy for which no treatment has yet been found. The NSE funds research and helps epilepsy sufferers and their familes. Any donation you can spare will help make a real difference to Karl, Clair, Fin and Ross and thousands of families like them.

You don't have to give generously. Just give.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: National Society for Epilepsy 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.

Thank you.