I am a freelance journalist, media consultant and proud member of Cookham Running Club and a former member of the BBC Running Club. I am indebted to Steve Wehrle, Peta Bee, Paddy McGuire and Gerry Cooper for inspiring me over the last 12 years and ultimately giving me the running bug.

As a child, I always believed that I didn't have any sporting ability, but I am now proud to describe myself as a "marathon fun runner", and have done 13 marathons in various parts of the world. I love the freedom of running and the fact that it connects you with people from every conceivable background. It has changed my life and is also a form of meditation for me.

I am running the London Marathon for Partners For Change Ethiopia. Last year I travelled to Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar to see the work that the charity is doing, and I was completely and utterly amazed. It is a very special organisation which helps children and families in impoverished communities:

www.pfcethiopia.org.

Partners For Change Ethiopia's current campaign, All about the Child, which marks the 30th anniversary of the 1984/5 famine, is helping the stigmatised former leper colony of Gende Tesfa. Most children there don't have access to fresh water and are not able to got to school. Partners for Change Ethiopia wants to  to create new opportunities for the entire community in Gende Tesfa enabling them to Live Learn and Grow.

I am raising money for the children at Gende Tesfa School. I am grateful to Holy Trinity School in Cookham for all their support with this project. Please do follow my blog and share it with it with friends:

www.diaryofamarathonmum.wordpress.com