On 24th May 2025 I will celebrate 10 years of running and I intend to mark the occasion by jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet over Bridlington and running my 6th marathon in Manchester 4 weeks earlier all in the name of the Alzheimer’s Society.

When I saw a poster at work “A WELLBEING DIVE INTO 2025” I took it literally and decided what a way to mark my 10 year run anniversary and raise vital funds for a charity close to my heart.

At the start of 2015 I was a 53 year old couch potato weighing in at a hefty 17st 3lbs and the only marathon I had ever attempted was the chocolate kind. Little did I know that supporting my sister in law, who was running the Race for Life 10km in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, on 17th May 2015, would change my life forever.

My journey started on 25th May 2015 with a 2.5 km run which took 24 minutes and made me want to take my running gear back to the shop for a refund. I persevered and my next milestone was six weeks later when I ran 5km on my mother’s 81st birthday and I achieved this in 32:32 minutes, I couldn’t believe the improvement.

With only 13 weeks to go I signed up for my 1st half marathon and pledged to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Little did I know then that my father-in-law and my mother were both going to succumb to this cruel disease.

Ten years on I have lost count of the number of 10km runs and with 14 half marathons and 5 marathons under my belt I am not ready to hang up my trainers just yet. The hardest part about running is putting that first foot out of the door but run, walk or jog it does not matter every run brings a sense of achievement. People have said that I don’t look like a runner and I accept that I ain’t no Mo Farah, more like the wee Fat Barra, but I managed to lose 4 stone along the way.

I love being part of the parkrun family having attended over 200 parkruns as either a runner, volunteer or both. I also take pride in being a member of the core team who brought parkrun to Kilmarnock in 2019.

It’s now time to reflect on how far I have come on my running journey and the money I have raised for good causes along the way, also how far you can go if you want to, the sky’s the limit. Although I don’t think NEXT meant diving out of an aeroplane.

I want to raise as much money as I can for the Alzheimer’s Society. Together we can help everyone living with or caring for someone with dementia. Your donations no matter how small all add up.