Hello everyone,

My name is Alex and almost 28 years ago I was born with bilateral CTEV (also known as clubfoot or talipes) in a loving and caring family, in a small town in Romania.

For reasons not known to me, operations and casts were picked as the treatment of choice in my case. Until the age of 7, I had 5-6 operations on both legs which included tendon lengthening and soft-tissue release using pins. Even today, I still have an un-removed piece of hardware in my left foot.

I can now say that I am pretty much enjoying a normal life. Even though the treatment approach left me with minor chronic foot pain, wider than average feet and shorter tendons, I consider myself lucky to be in this position.

Currently, less than 15% of children in lower and middle income countries access treatment that would prevent a lifetime of disability. Those children who do not access treatment (approximately 158,000 children per year) face a lifetime severely affected by clubfoot, experiencing ongoing pain, limited mobility, abuse, and reduced opportunities in education, employment and relationships. This doesn’t have to be the case.

While I do try to maintain reasonably fit by lifting weights, I don't have any experience with running events. I signed up for this event 8 weeks prior to the event date, and my goal is to run the 10 miles (16 km) under last year's average time of 1:50.

My workout plan will look as follows:

Monday: cross training
Tuesday: short run
Wednesday: cross training
Thursday: interval run
Friday: cross training
Saturday: long run
Sunday: rest day

With my commitment and your support we can make a difference.
Let's not take walking for granted.

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