Hallo everyone!

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

As some of you will know, my Mum became ill at the beginning of January 2008 when she collapsed with an infection and was taken into hospital where she remained for 2 months. I was working full-time and teaching 4-5 aerobic classes a week so there was a lot of coming and going during this time, as well as quite a lot of stress, as I visited her every day and twice a day at weekends.

I was advised to think about putting her into a care home but I said this was not an option and that we would carry on with the help of a professional carer. I was made redundant at the beginning of May so it seeemd right that I would look after her and it was about this time I found The Princess Royal Trust for Carers website.

Mum went back into hospital another 3 times during the year, but whilst there the 2nd time we had an arson attack at our flats and were without electricity for 6 weeks so she had to remain in hospital longer than necessary. She came home again at the beginning of September and seemed to remain stable. However a few days before Christmas she collapsed again but sadly this time there was nothing they could do at the hospital and she passed away early hours of 22nd December 2008. As you can imagine I was devastated.

I will be running in the Sony Ericsson "Run to the Beat" Half Marathon on 27th September in memory of her and have set up a ‘Forget-me-not’ Tribute Fund in order to raise money for The Princess Royal Trust for Carers. I say running, I haven't trained for some considerable time, so this will definitely not be an easy task! Details can be found at http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk/

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Princess Royal Trust for Carers gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

I realise we are all in a "Credit Crunch" crisis at present but any donation, however small, will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your support.

Karen

30-4-09 - Have started training. Managed about 6 km yesterday!

22-5-09 - 9+ km today!

24-6-09 - Ran in the Dulwich Mid Summer 5k this evening

12-7-09 - Joined in with about 28,000 other runners to do The British 10k. Took ages for us to get to the start, about an hour later than the first runners and luckily no rain. In fact it was quite hot and I heard someone say she hoped she would not get burnt! Not done this race before but was a good morning/afternoon out. Struggled for the first few kms and thought I may have to walk for some of it but managed to keep running. My 2nd half of the race (5k) was over 2 minutes faster than the 1st half and at about 7km I was literally sprinting through the streets of London!

5-8-09 - Oh my, there's been a set-back! Was covering an aerobics class last Friday for another instructor and my knee gave way! Painful for a good few days and still not right now. Not been able to run! It will have to be physio else it won't heal properly or quickly enough & there's only just over 7 weeks to go!

16-8-09 - Not ran for 2 weeks but am visiting a physio and doing exercises for the knee so hope to start running again in the next few days!

18-8-09 - Had acupuncture today!

31-8-09 - Have done a couple of walk/jog sessions. On Friday managed to jog for 30 mins which in comparison to about 5 weeks ago is not much, but it's the longest have done since the dodgy knee incident!

8-9-09 - Bought new trainers yesterday so hoping they'll help to support the knee. Will try them out tomorrow!

17-9-09 - Oh no! The new trainers have given me a foot problem! Only worn them twice! Physio now dealing with knee & feet! Anyway this evening ran in old trainers - Managed 65 mins!

27-9-09 - Well TODAY was Race Day! Didn't start off too well, less than 6 hrs sleep, then got lost on the way to the O2! Did arrive with about 1 hr to go though. Was a bit too hot for running 13 miles but in a way better than rain! After the 1st mile both knees started hurting, in fact the good one was worse than the dodgy one! My time was slow despite no walking, only slowed down to grab water & to nip into a sweet shop for pain killers! BUT I did it and that was the main thing!

Will pop a couple of photos on later in the week and what's more, you can still sponsor me as this page will stay open until December. For those of you who already have, a BIG THANK YOU!

Thank you to the following people who donated off line:-  Des Harding, Lindsay Cook, Irene Noone, Philippa Wood, Georgina Calrow, Robena Hasan, Mandy & Denis, Peggy Harris, Kerry Harris, Beverley Bowen, Eileen Moss, Sylvia Hughes, Christine Struthers, Chris Scott, Carole Ross.