My personal best time for running 5K (in recent years!) is 31 minutes and 40 seconds. I equalled this time 3 days before I had major surgery for bowel cancer on 30th January 2018. The surgery resulted in a permanent colostomy and subsequently I  started 6 months of chemotherapy treatment on 19th March. My aim is to gradually and gently get back to running and beat my 5K personal best by the end of October this year, whilst raising money for Colostomy UK.  

Training will have to be slow and gentle to begin with and training opportunities will be limited due to my chemo treatment regime, however any money you feel able to donate to Colostomy UK I'm sure will spur me on to achieve my goal. In the past few months I have received wonderful support and information from Colostomy UK , helping me get accustomed to my new life with a stoma, so I want to use this opportunity to give a little back.

I will also be logging all training Kms to add towards Colostomy UKs 50,000 Km challenge. Over a six-month period people will be running, walking, climbing, swimming, cycling, skating, crawling or jogging any number of metres to help them reach their target of 50,000 kilometres. "We are going to PROVE that having a stoma is not a barrier to being active!"

Colostomy UK is a national charity that offers support and advice to people with stomas and to their families, carers and friends. Colostomy UK also campaigns and acts as advocates for ostomates on the many issues they face going about their daily lives. We want hidden conditions to be understood and accepted by all. Our vision is of communities in which everyone is empowered to reach their potential.