In September 2009, Christopher Henry Tickle, my cousin (Stephen) and friend to (Luke) suffered a severe neck injury when a rugby scrum collapsed. He died in hospital three weeks later. Christopher was a highly popular 23 year-old with a great love of life and sports, an infectious sense of humour and a willingness to help and support others.

Christopher's death has left a permanent void in our lives but his legacy has been to inspire others to raise funds in his name through "The Christopher Tickle Fund", channeling monies raised to The Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation which is funding encouraging research into cures for spinal injuries, giving hope for the future to those who survive such catastrophic injuries.

Luke and I are going to be running the Manchester Marathon with the aim to meet the fundraising target and beyond for the foundation. Any donations will be greatly appriciated.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.