I've always loved running but have never managed much more than 10k; I planned to run the Brighton Half last year but injured my back so I was determined to run it in 2013  and signed up as early as possible. Back in the summer of 2012, probably in some post-Olympic haze, I decided it would be a good idea for me to go the whole hog and run the full marathon; hey - if I was training for the half anyway, what would another 13 MILES be? Needless to say, I'm massively freaking out and my life now revolves around obsessing over previously unheard of delights such as threshold sessions; over pronation and electrolytes. If I ever get too scared though, I just think of my gorgeous nephew Ollie and the reason that I'm doing this, and somehow it doesn't seem quite so scary. Please read Sarah, Greg and Ollie's story below and sponsor me whatever you can afford - it will be really appreciated!

Back in 2011, Karl and I were excitedly looking forward to the impending arrival of a niece or nephew, due in the new year. However, little Oliver had other ideas and decided to make a very early entrance, arriving at 26 weeks, weighing only 2lbs 6oz. This is my sister in law, Sarah's story

Oliver was born on Thursday 6th October 2011 on what started out as a normal working day. I had decided to leave work at lunchtime and stop at the Royal Surrey in Guildford for a check up as I 'just didn't feel right' obviously my mothering instinct had kicked in as I was in silent labour and gave birth later that afternoon to a beautiful but tiny little boy.  Ollie was just under 14 weeks early and weighed 1.065kg (2lb 6oz), because of his extreme prematurity he was transferred later that evening to St Peters NICU which was to be his home for the next 81 days.

Greg and I were informed early on of the risks that Ollie faced and whilst you appreciate the honesty of the medical staff, the facts are hard to face. The first few weeks of Ollie's life are a blur of procedures, scans and long periods of sitting and staring, willing this little miracle to keep fighting. His determined little attitude served him well and his Christmas present to us was a discharge date of Boxing Day - finally our family were together at home. Although Ollie was only ventilated for a short while, he has been diagnosed with chronic lung disease. This is a condition that will improve as he grows stronger but he was discharged on oxygen.Ollie's lungs are now strong enough to survive without the oxygen and he recently weighed in at a brilliant 20lbs 6oz - a whole 18lbs more than when he was born.

Sarah and other friends whose babies were cared for in the NICU in Surrey have already raised an fantastic total of over £10,000 for the unit by undertaking the Thames Challenge 50K walk on 29th September 2012. Sarah made a video to support this which shows the amazing progress that OIlie has made since he was born:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Bg6wtlUz4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I wasn't able to run for St Peters, so I have decided to fundraise for the Early Birth Association as I wanted to be able to support the brilliant work they are doing to support the parents of premature and sick babies, locally in Brighton and Hove. One of Ollie's best buddies from NICU, Genevieve, was saved by the team at Brighton and Hove, and her parents were really grateful for the support offered by the Early Birth Association.

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.