The closer it gets, and after running 17 miles the scarier the realisation is that I'm going to be running over 26 miles for 'fun'..... so to make it worthwhile I've decided to raise money for two really good causes to help people with crohns and Lupus, both of which have affected two very good friends of mine, so much so that I came close to losing both of them last year.

I first met Em at uni, where I was also introduced to Amy (Amber-Rose) her then 3 year old daughter. Amy has lived with her mum being ill for as far back as she can remember so I've asked her to help me to get support for one of the strongest people we know and who we came incredibly close to losing from all our lives last year:

My name is Amber-Rose Thumwood, and I am 14 years old. My mum, Emma Patricia Simpson has a gastroentological illness known as Crohn’s Disease, which has affected her throughout her whole life…but, not so much as to stop her walking all the way from John O’ Groats to Lands’ end in 1996, aged only 19! I really admire her bravery, and am really proud of her, and everything she has achieved. As of yet, medicine is not so advanced as to completely obliterate her illness, but some wonderful people are trying to find a cure; not just for my mum, but for thousands of other Crohn’s sufferers too.