Inspired by dressing as Paula Radcliffe for our New Years Eve fancy dress party (see photo and yes that is a poo bag I am carrying!) I have decided to run my first marathon for Taylan's Project- here's why:

Anna and George, back in primary school, knew Taylan Rawlinson, a lovely 7 year old boy who was diagnosed with a rare incurable and inoperable brain tumour located in the brain stem called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

On 19th August, 2009, just 10 months later he passed away.

Taylan's parents, Figen and Andy, are working tirelessly to help other families who are affected by Brain Tumours and set up Taylan's Project, an umbrella group of Brain Tumour Research, a registered charity.

The money they and others have raised for Taylan's Project has been spent on ground-breaking research in the UK.

I want to help because brain tumours are forgotten when it comes to allocating funds for research and the progress is very slow. Just 14% survive beyond five years compared to 50% for all cancers. Brain tumours can affect anyone and are increasingly affecting the younger population and there are very few treatment options and nothing even close to a cure. Research into brain tumours receives less than 1% of the national spend on cancer research in the UK. Yet more children and people under the age of 40 in the UK die of a brain tumour than any other cancer.

You can find out more about Taylan's Project at

http://www.taylansproject.com