Once again, I am strapping on my running shoes and pounding the pavements in an effort to raise money for another excellent cause in Action Medical Research.

In the summer of 2014, together with my mother, brother and sister I took part in my first charity run, the Vitality London 10km, and was instantly bit by the fundraising bug. I found attracting sponsorship was an incredibly motivating factor in helping me to train, so much so that I followed up this initial race by completing the 2014 Great Scottish Run and the 2015 Brentwood Half-Marathon. Through the combined efforts of the family, we were able to raise nearly £12,000 for Cancer Research UK, a cause that meant so much to all of us, given what we had went through with my father's illness.

The long term goal behind all my fundraising and racing, was to be able to take part in and complete the Marathon eventually. So I am delighted to say, that thanks to Action Medical Research, I will be running the 2017 London Marathon. I would therefore be incredibly grateful, if you could take the time to learn a little bit more about the work Action Medical Research does, and also to consider donating to my fundraising page.

Action Medical Research was a charity first brought to my attention by my cousin Lucy, who in her role as Miss Scotland, is hoping to raise over £50,000 for Action Medical Research to help with research into treatments for Neuroblastoma. They are a charity dedicated to funding medical research on numerous diseases affecting the lives of millions of children. Medical research into illnesses and conditions affecting children in the UK is incredibly low, meaning the work that Action Medical Research does is imperative. However, given that the charity is committed to funding research into everything from Asthma to Down Syndrome and Heart Disease to Autism, it desperately needs financial support to continue making progress. To find more details on the remarkable work Action Medical Research does, I encourage to visit their website at https://www.action.org.uk/.

I thank you for reading my story and hope that I have encouraged you to donate. Whether it is a little or large sum, all donations are incredibly welcome. I plan to enter into several races beforehand to prepare for the big race, and will keep you well-informed of my progress. My goal is complete the race in under 3 hours 30 minutes, so I have plenty of work to do to achieve this!

Wish me luck!