A tough, gruelling, and hard slog. No, not the half marathon, but pretty much every physical activity when you reach your mid-thirties. Nevertheless, Rick and I decided that running 21.1 km would be a good idea and having foolishly signed up online and paid our entrance fee, there’s no going back.

However, we couldn’t be doing it for a better cause. Cerebral Palsy is a topic close to our heart. For those of you who don’t know, my little niece Audrey was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy over 18 months ago.

Cerebral Palsy is a lifelong condition and the most common motor disability in childhood. It affects body movement, posture and balance and is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain before or at birth.

If you’re like me, you probably didn’t realise that there’s different types of Cerebral Palsy and that there is a scale of how severely it can affect someone. In fact, no two people with Cerebral Palsy are the same, therefore there is not a one size fits all for therapy. For Audrey, it affects the gross motor function in her legs and her ability to walk unaided. Or rather, it should do, but Audrey being the toughest little cookie I know means she’s thrown two fingers up at CP and is ploughing on anyway.

Audrey’s lucky. She has two of the most amazing parents I know that have helped her pursue everything she loves. Swimming, ballet, playball, you name it. Audrey hasn’t let her CP get in the way of her participating in sport or let it define her attitude of what she’s able to do. Unfortunately, not every child is as lucky to have the same support and means to make that happen.

Anyone who’s met me knows I love sport. Whether it’s participating or watching, I think sport is able to give some much to everyone. Whether it’s learning about teamwork, learning about resilience and hard work, or just generally learning to lose, sport contains so many lessons that help set a person up for life.

But sport isn’t about how good you are or about being the best. It’s about doing the best that you can, fulfilling your own potential, and just generally having fun. No one should be excluded from those principles, or the physical and mental benefits sport and exercise can bring about.

That’s why we’re running for CP Sport, an amazing charity who provide sport and activity opportunities for people with cerebral palsy. Any money you donate will help encourage and enable people with cerebral palsy to live more active lives and participate in activities that so many of us take for granted.

Love Ell & Rick