Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I started my Marathon journey ( and it has been a journey!) with a bet made last Easter weekend when I was a little bit drunk. I never thought that almost a year later I would be running 26.2 miles.

Most of you know me, and you know I like a drink and have avoided any real physical activity all my life.I was 19 stone when I started training and now I am 16 stone, a lot leaner and actually able to describe myself as physically fit! This has taken a lot of time, determination and pain.

Plus I have not touched a drop of alchohol since 19th Feb and I am looking forward to a glas of champagne when I cross the finish line in London on 22nd April.

So why have I put myself through this?????

My Mum who has been deaf for 28 years and who lives alone has a vital lifeline - Marti her hearing dog, who has been trained to help her with daily tasks that most people take for garanted. He alerts her to the doorbell, the cooker timer, her mobile phone vibrating for text message alerts etc. Most importantly Marti has been trained to react to danger, and mainly smoke alarms. Never before has this training been more important than 2 weeks ago, when my Mum had a house fire that destroyed the ground floor of her home. It was Marti that alerted her to this and saved her from God knows what could have happened if he had not been there.

Hearing Dogs are more than just a good companion for people who feel isolated by their deafness, they are a lifeline and help deaf people to live confident lives.

Please help to support me and this great charity, I really appreciate any support that you can give. Training has been one of the toughest experiences I have ever faced.

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.