Following the success of running the Asics 10K for two consecutive years I have felt the need to push myself somewhat further to challenge myself and achieve a long term goal of mine. Therefore, come 17th April I will be ready to compete in my first marathon, and what better way to be introduced to this milestone by running the Virgin London Marathon!

To remind you of the charity and story behind my efforts, one of my brothers, Shane, was diagnosed with Coeliac disease about 6 years ago, and as such I will be running in aid of Coeliac once more. They are the only charity in the UK to support people like Shane and rely solely on fundraising efforts to fuel their research.

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease, where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. In people with coeliac disease this immune reaction is triggered by gluten, a collective name for a type of protein found in the cereals wheat, rye and barley. A few people are also sensitive to oats. Essentially this limits such people to a gluten-free diet which if you look around the foods we all eat on a daily basis, is pretty hard to come by.

So please dig deep and show your support in any way that you can. I am tweeting throughout my entire build-up so if you want to follow you can find me at @SJ_Thomson. I’d be very grateful of any donations and they will go towards improving the life for people with this condition, which currently affects 1 in 100 people

Many thanks for all your donations and support!!