Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

A year ago today my world fell apart when my father very suddenly passed away, aged just 63 years old. My father was only 4 years into his retirement, living the life of luxury back home in the Philippines. Despite not being in the best of health he always lived life to the full and always enjoyed a good drink, good food and good company. He had diabetes, but it was a sudden stroke that took his life in his sleep on 8 April 2011.

A year later, his memory is stronger than ever and rather than tears of sadness, my family are starting to smile again whenever his name is mentioned. He will never be forgotten and will always live on in our hearts.

I set myself a challenge back in October 2011 to take part in the Grim II "Beast in the East" 10km+ run on 12 May 2012 - the name of the event sounds horrific I know but this it is real! - http://beast.grimchallenge.co.uk/.

I have never ran for more than 6km in my life but have been training hard for the past six months to achieve my goal of finishing the event. It is not a race against time for me, but a challenge to finish and also enjoy it (if that's possible!). Not only is this a personal challenge for me, but also one where I can also help raise money for Diabetes UK and honour my father's memory by helping others that have to live with this condition.

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.

Please dig deep and give whatever you can - your support is appreciated and will spur me on to that finish line! This one's for you Dad! x