http://runningforaugust.com/

In April 2015 I ran the London Marathon for Spinal Research and in memory of my friend August Atkinson. I wanted to honour her spirit as someone who could and did, by trying to be that way myself.

The whole experience, from signing up to training to crossing the finish line, was the weirdest, most challenging but most rewarding experience of my life, and I finished it convinced that I would never ever in a million years go through that again. Last year was so incredibly special to me because I ran as a way of channelling my grief, and the support I received was so phenomenal that I genuinely burst into tears when I was finishing. I didn't think I'd do the marathon again.

Yet, here I am, I've decided to run the London marathon again, but this time for the Alzheimer's Society. 

My granny suffered horrifically with Alzheimer's and was transformed from a woman who lived independently, driving and everything, to someone who could barely communicate, let alone know who she was speaking with. 

I’ve decided to run this year’s London Marathon for the Alzheimer’s Society not only in memory of my Granny and everyone who has afflicted by this horrible disease, but also in support of my Mum and every other person who has to watch people they love disappear in mind, whilst expending huge reserves of emotion and energy in caring for them in body. I want to help fund the research into causes and treatment, so that one day we may be able to treat it, and be able to have the conversations that are so desperately needed for confronting it today.

I really believe that marathons are an opportunity to defy what you thought to be possible and to look at it in terms of speed or fundraising minimums is totally incorrect; whatever you accomplish is extraordinary and enough.

This is why I’ve decided to both run again and fundraise again, and I would like to very gratefully thank everyone who supported me last year, and once again ask for your generosity as I prepare to go through another round of training in order to run one of the world’s most iconic races.

I'm so appreciative of the support that I received last year, and I’m lucky enough to have a Good for Age place in the London Marathon this year, meaning I don’t have to fundraise for my place in the way that I did last year. However, every penny makes a difference to charity, and sponsorship is honestly the best motivation when your running in the cold and wet, the warm, the boring, the bank holiday when everyone else is having fun.

I'd be so grateful for any donation, even if it's just a pound, and in return I promise to train hard and run as fast as I can on April 24. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the next 13 weeks and injury can always ruin the best of plans, but I definitely would like to try and beat my time from last year and intend to work as hard as I can to make that happen.