Hello everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As a 15 year old girl, Katie, my best friend at school was unable to complete the 800m race because she was laughing so hard at my running technique.

10 years later here I am, running the London Marathon.

I'm subjecting myself to public humiliation to raise money for Age Concern, who are SUCH a great charity.  Since volunteering with elderly people at Leeds, I've always felt the need to champion help for old people, who are too often ignored in society today. 

Now, working as an OT with older people in a London hospital, I meet all sorts of older people who have amazing stories to tell but who have little support around them, and Age Concern can help these people.  People like Harry, an 84 year old who I worked with at the hospital, who was found by the London Ambulance Service after a neighbour noticed he hadn't been out and about in the past week.  Harry had had a fall in his flat, and hadn't been able to get up for five days.  He had no family or friends to notice that he had fallen, and no-one to visit or support him whilst in hospital.  Age Concern helped to get him out of hospital by arranging things for when he was going home, and put him contact with a day centre, where he could make new friends and have social contact again.

Running the 26.2 miles is going to be a massive challenge, but even bigger is the task of raising £1,500 (excluding gift aid).  You can help by attending one of the events I'll be organising over the next couple of months, or donating your chosen amount here online.

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.