I'm going to be doing the Leeds half marathon on behalf of all the people who suffer with psoriasis. It is a skin condition which makes the person have more than just dried looking skin. It affects the nerves, skin, joints, and can lead to psoriatic arthritis.

The Psoriasis Association is the leading national charity working for people with psoriasis and all donations received help to sustain work in supporting people affected by psoriasis, raising awareness of the condition and funding research projects. They are reliant on donations to be able to continue their work.

When a person has psoriasis, their skin replacement process speeds up, taking just a few days to replace skin cells that usually take 21-28 days.

This accumulation of skin cells builds up to form raised ‘plaques’ on the skin, which can also be flaky, scaly, red on caucasian skin, darker patches on darker skin tones, and itchy.

The current thinking is that psoriasis affects between 2% and 3% of the UK population - up to 1.8 million people - although this is an estimate.

On a personal note, my Wife and mother in law have suffered badly with Psoriasis for many years. When it's at it's worst they are in chronic pain and soreness. People with it often feel so embarrassed by their skin, they cover up their body, just to stop people staring and pointing at them.

Please give as much as you can to try and find a breakthrough for this horrible condition.