Right let’s be honest, the reason you’re all going to sponsor me is because not one of you thought it possible that I could/would ever run round the block let alone all over London and Essex! By the way I agree with all of you. So let’s not mess about, dig deep and give this wonderful charity as much money as you can possibly afford! Maybe save a few quid just in case you need to buy a beer at my funeral 😬

So i’m running the Victoria Park Half Marathon on 8th January and then the Brentwood Half Marathon on 12th March followed by the big one in April.

Now for the soppy bit…

I’ve chosen to run my first (and quite possibly only!!) marathon for The Stroke Association as my family have had some deep personal experience of the suffering that Strokes can cause. 

My brother suffered 3 strokes over the span of a few years at a very young age and whilst we are extremely lucky that he pulled through and has made a full recovery it still had a profound impact on our family. 

More recently my uncle also suffered a stroke which is why this charity is personal to me.

And the professional bit…

The Stroke Association are the UK's leading stroke charity, delivering amazing, life-changing support to over 70,000 stroke survivors and their families each year.Without people raising funds for the Stroke Association they could not provide the support and research that they do. Your donations are so important to rebuilding lives after stroke.Where your support goes:- £80 could allow a a stroke survivor to attend a six week communication computer course- £199 could pay for one hour of Helpline activity- £310 could pay for the initial training and expenses of a befriending volunteer- £1,685 could pay for a fitness coach to provide stroke specific exercise rehabilitation- £40,000 funds a Lectureship Award for stroke doctor, nurse, therapist or scientist for a year- £450,000 fully funds a Priority Programme Award in haemorrhagic stroke, vascular dementia and stroke, or the psychological and cognitive impact of stroke, which would run over the course of 5 years