After months of putting off booking, and delaying things for as long as I could, Joel and I have signed up for Tough Mudder South West (August 21st). While this is Joel's 3rd Tough Mudder, it will be my first, and a huge challenge at that!

For those of you who don't know what Tough Mudder is, it's a 10-12 mile obstacle course, with 20+ world class obstacles, 40 tonnes of ice, and unsurprisingly 500,000 litres of mud! Safe to say, I'm not taking the challenge lightly. (For more info, please see: https://toughmudder.co.uk) I have never completed anything quite to this scale before, and had never run more than a 5k before I started training in April, so I'm pretty apprehensive!

My Grandad passed away just before Christmas, and I felt it seemed incredibly appropriate to not only physically and mentally challenge myself by completing this, but to also complete it in his memory, raising money for a charity that helped support him and encouraged him to remain independent.

After being declared blind, Blind Veterans UK (formally known as St. Dunstan's) helped my Grandad learn to use a computer, arranging for him to learn to touch type, as well as installing and organising software that made the computer more accessible for him. As a man with a huge passion for learning, and who had an interest in almost everything, having access to these opportunities was amazing. He was able to go away on holiday to stay with them, as well as being able to go away for 'occasion' meals with them. They gave him the support and confidence for him to believe he could still keep his independence, and that he was able to 'have a go' when it came to learning new skills, without relying solely on family and friends to assist and help him to get to where he wanted to be.

Blind Veterans UK allowed my Grandad to become proficient with his computer and with the internet he was able to watch the live stream of my University Graduation in 2014 from the comfort of his own home. Although he was unable to be there in person, knowing he was still able to experience one of the biggest days of my life meant the absolute world to me, and is something I treasure. For more information about this wonderful charity, please see: http://www.blindveterans.org.uk/about-us/.

I feel that now it’s my turn to help Blind Veterans UK provide another family with the opportunities for lives to be changed and memories to be made, in the same way they did for us. I am hoping to raise £500, so any donations of any size would be incredibly gratefully received.

Thank you for your kindness and support - it means a huge amount!