On the 22 of April at 9.45am I will be joining the 817,890 runners who have gone before me starting a 26.2 mile run from Greenwich Park, down the South Bank, across Tower Bridge, up around the Docklands, back along by St Pauls and finishing at The Mall. The Virgin London Marathon is in its 31 year and I am honoured to be running it on behalf of The Bright Horizons Foundation for Children.

My training program is well under way and I am strangely looking forward to the challenge. Never before have I been so keen for spring to arrive and have light mornings and sunny evenings – even my dog has a flashing reflective collar so the unsuspecting motorists in Northamptonshire can spot the mad woman and her dog pounding the streets!

The Foundation was launched in 2005, with the specific aim of helping families and children in crisis, living in temporary accommodation or fleeing from domestic violence for example. The need is great and the figures are shocking:

• One woman in four will experience domestic violence in her lifetime: in 50% of cases the children of abused women are also directly abused (Refuge)
• More than 90,000 homeless children in England are living in temporary accommodation (Why End Child Poverty Key Facts)

Please help me raise £1500 for the Foudantion and donate today!