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Anyone who knows me (Olivia) will appreciate that I am not a runner! Not by any stretch of even the most vibrant and wondrous imagination. I am not even a supporter of running, I actively detest it and cannot understand why anyone would choose to take part in this heinous activity for so-called fun. 

For many years I have laughed in the face of my friends and family (Francesca!) who have ineptly attempted to coerce me into taking part in the Manchester 10k, for why would I wish to punish myself so?! However, when asked this year it somehow felt different; for this year I want to push myself out of my comfort zone, I want to challenge myself to do something which hurts, and I want to prove to myself that I can achieve something which I've spent my whole life telling myself I can't.

Along comes the help and support of my co-runners, who have (on several occasions) literally forced me to don my trainers and hit the pavements of Heaton Moor. Thanks to Cesc, Dave and Mand for all the coercion - now let's raise as much as we can for our chosen charity, The Booth Centre.

You don't have to walk very far in Manchester town centre to recognise that homelessness is a major problem within our city. The Booth Centre is a local charity which works to bring about positive change in the lives of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness by providing advice to find accommodation, education/training and help to find employment. It also provides free healthy meals, support in tackling addiction, and also works to improve the confidence and self esteem of those who are vulnerable in our community.

The Booth Centre relies completely on donations so please support myself, Cesc, Dave and Amanda to help us help them make a difference to homelessness on the streets of Manchester. So far in my training I am struggling to get past the 5k mark, however I'm hoping that I will be spurred on to improve this by the knowledge of an increasing fund-raising total for this great cause.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.