This year I'm taking on three major running events, to raise money for Alzheimer's Society, the UK's leading dementia charity.  

The events I will be running are:

1.  London Landmarks Half Marathon, which I signed up to run in 2020 but only got to run in April 2022 as a result of the pandemic;

2. Edinburgh Marathon - on Sunday 29 May.  My first ever marathon!!  I entered and trained for this event before the pandemic, but half way through my training, the country went into lockdown.  The race was moved and cancelled three times and I am finally getting the opportunity to run it, two years later.  

3.  I said "one and done" for a full marathon, back in 2019... but when Alzheimer's Society offered me a place in their team for the TCS London Marathon on 2 October, after many years of unsuccessful ballot applications, I simply couldn't say no.  I get goosebumps watching this event every year on TV and can't believe I will be lining up to take part this year.

My wonderful daughters, Alice (10) and Emily (8) are also keen to be involved and will be running the Edinburgh Marathon Festival Mini Marathon in May, Nottingham Robin Hood Mini Marathon in September, and the TCS Mini London Marathon in October.  I am so proud of them.

It's no secret that I love to run but a full marathon is a really, really long way.  I never thought I'd be able to run that far, let alone complete two marathons in four months!.  That much running is no small feat and I'm well aware that the challenge ahead of me is huge.  That is why I'm taking the opportunity to raise as much as I can for Alzheimer's Society.  I chose this charity because Jay's lovely mum, Angela, is living with advanced Alzheimer's Disease and, honestly, it is heartbreaking.

Alzheimer's Disease is the most common of many causes of dementia.  Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life.  A progressive illness, dementia gradually takes away the person you know and love, in some cases long before physical death occurs meaning families are left grieving for the loss of a person who is still alive. It is a terrifying statistic is that 1 in 3 of us will develop dementia during our lifetime, and there is currently no cure.

If you got this far, thank you.  I hope you will consider supporting me - every donation means a tremendous amount both to me and to Alzheimer’s Society. 

Thank you x