Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page; I appreciate every peek and if it results in that, every penny too. 

Last year I fundraised for the NWAA as I set out to run the farthest distance I'd ever conceived of - a half marathon - at the Great North Run. Medical fact from 2017 was that I'd never run again. But let's be honest - I thought I never wanted to run again! Since then though I've lost 60kg in weight. That's 9.4 stone and it kinda makes everything a lot easier when that goes, especially running on a leg held together by metal and a wing and a prayer.

My focus back then was to prove the medical professionals wrong (check); to raise a sum of money that covered what I'd cost the charity to save my life (who knows if £1,500+ is even close - but check); to derive a sense of self worth through doing something no one thought I could do (ding ding DING - check!). And I did it. I've never been so emotional in all my life as when I crossed that finish line, having completed an event I really should not have been alive to complete. I still feel it now - the enormous gratitude from having had people invest their time to get me to that point. Invest their energy, their efforts, their money. It stands out to me as one of the most memorable moments of my life. And likely will stay for as long as the brain injury I live with remains stable.. 

That is not my aim this time around. This time round I know I'm taking on a massive event. A marathon... 26.2 miles... wow. But not just that though. No. The Greater Manchester Run in May, which I thought was a half marathon but it turned out was the 10km. And then imagine my horror when not one but two race numbers dropped through the door and I realised I was doing BOTH... in the SAME DAY. The Great North Run in September (that one is a half marathon) and finally Born Survivor... the terrifying one. A military-style 10km over grass and muddy and fixed obstacles of metal and wood and use upper body strength which I simply do not have... 

And on that, I have made some changes to the plan. Gone are just the four events, and instead eight. One marathon, one 10km run, one 15km event, one 10 mile event and four half marathons. Gone is Born Survivor due to concerns around my upper body capabilities (not to mention the threat of forthcoming surgery) and the 10km obstacle event replaced instead with a 10-mile road run.

One event on their own might be worthy of sponsorship. And having had it be a half last year, it really only leaves the full marathon as an escalation, but to do all eight in my state of physical disability... . 

So donate a penny, donate a pound; it's not about telling you where I've come from and tugging at your heart strings. If we know each other, you'll have heard the story once or twice anyway. Or worse, lived through those days when you knew significantly more than me, and have subsequently been able to give thanks for my recovery thus far. Or read the newspapers on GNR day last year with all the gory details.

I'm grateful to be alive to be able to complete these bonkers activities, and treat myself at the end of a very active 2019 but even more gruelling three year slog, to be right here, right now. I want a picture of myself at the top; the summit of Uhuru peak, eyes glistening with pride that I did EVERYTHING I could to get there and overcome all that stood in my way. 

And it'd be lovely to know I gave a few more pounds to the lifesavers who helped me. The ones who had no idea that the battered body on the stretcher almost 27 months ago would go from requiring such intense intervention just to stay alive, to climbing the world's highest independently standing peak. 

If you donated to my friend Lindsay Hayton in 2017 and/or donated to me in 2018, this is not a plea to dig deeper. No. Read the bio, share it with your friends, maybe sling a pound or two (as you would when it was on paper and dependent on what you had in your pocket and not the entire bank account) but please know that I already feel grateful. And I know the NWAA are blown away by my insanity and your generosity. If you want to, please do. If you don't, don't. It's that simple. 

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this, and please think sympathetically of me on 07/04/19 when a 26.2 mile foot race puts me through more of an emotional wringer than a car accident ever could. And again on 19/05/19... and 04/08/19... and 18/08/19... and 08/09/19.... and 13/10/19... and 27/10/19. 

Much love ❤️