On 20th and 21st April, we will be taking part in the Ultra Tour of Arran covering 60 miles over two days. Eileen will be running and Alan will be walking (it's debatable which one is crazier). This course has been called brutal by people who have done it before and includes trekking up and down the infamous Goatfell.

Whilst Eileen has completed an Ultra in the past, this pushes her way out of her comfort zone as it involves some serious hill climbing and descents. It will be Alan's first attempt at an Ultra. This Ultra also involves 3 nights of camping, something Eileen has never done before!!

Eileen will then follow this up by completing The Wall on 15th June ... a 70 mile non-stop Ultra Marathon along Hadrians Wall from Carlisle to Newcastle.

As always, the fundraising is for Crohns and Colitis UK because our son has Crohns. Diagnosed at 11 years of age, he finally found a treatment that worked for him after 6 failed attempts and 2 and a half years. Then in January this year, after only 7 months remission he got hit by his first flare and it feels like we are back at beginning. He has felt so awful that he stopped eating properly and has lost weight, he looks so tired and has to constantly go to the toilet.

He has had to start back on steroids to get things under control and has been unable to attend school as a result of how bad he feels. Yet through it all, it smiles and keeps going. He is our strength and determination. It is so hard feeling so helpless watching our child, who regardless of his age will always be the little baby we held in our arms the day he was born and we promised to love and protect for the rest of our lives. We cannot 'fix' him so we are raising monies for a charity that supports him and others like him.

We’re the UK’s leading charity for Crohn’s and Colitis.

Right now, an estimated 500,000 people in the UK are living with a lifelong disease that many people have never heard of. And the real number could be almost double that.

Because of the stigma and misunderstanding surrounding these diseases, thousands of people are suffering in silence.

But they’re not alone.

We’re working to improve diagnosis and treatment, and to fund research into a cure; to raise awareness and to give people hope, comfort and confidence to live freer, fuller lives.