As most of you know I've started running over the past six months and my mum gave me the target of running a half marathon. Now my time has run out and it's a few weeks away. Pressure is a powerful motivator, but so is financial backing to make sure I have to go through with it. 

This is where you come in. Right now I'm probably 50/50 to run the royal parks. The more I raise the more the ratio increases as I won't be able to deal with the social pressure in letting you all down. 

To really pile on the pressure in completing the race, the money's being raised for a charity close to my family. The charity is the CSF Leak Charity which supports patients with CSF leaks. It also advocates for research into leaks and patient access to diagnostic treatment. CSF leaks can happen to anyone and around 5 years ago it happened to my mum and has affected her ever since. Mum has worked with the charity and it's helped her enormously in her time dealing with a CSF leak. It's through the charity that she found guidance and a network of people who understood what it's like to live with a leak. The charity's been so supportive of her and has really improved her quality of life living with a leak.

While it's possible for me to run, having a CSF leak means that you have a loss of fluid which surrounds the brain and spine which, unsurprisingly, is really painful and causes collateral neurological symptoms which get worse if you're sitting or standing. This means that running is pretty much the worst thing you can do - really people with a CSF leak spend a lot of time lying flat. So you can find yourself isolated, unable to work or care for people (or yourself). Having a leak takes a physical effect but it also carries a high mental burden. I've found running to be a physical benefit but also a mental benefit - both of which are taken away if you have a CSF leak.  

So I'm motivated to run the race as a reminder of the joys running can bring (please tell me this when I'm staggering to the finish line) and need your help to raise money for a great cause to spread the benefits running can bring to those who can't do it for themselves because of something outside of their control.

Feel free to come down on 9th October to cheer me on! I'll need all the help I can get. Really.

Here's a video for more info on CSF leaks: https://youtu.be/cspOWNC3Q7k