I must be mad but then again sometimes you've just got to jump! I've threatened to run a half marathon for some years now. I've walked the Cape Pembroke Half Marathon in The Falklands, but never tried extending the 5k distance I run each Saturday. So why now?

I'm doing this in honour of a very special person who sadly died this year. I first met Ann when I joined the RNLI staff in the south west. She ran the Divisional Base at Saltash; others may have thought they did but it was Ann who made sure everything worked smoothly!

She was a very special person who took on the fight against bl**dy cancer with an amazing determination. She had time for everyone. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer she supported me, despite her own battle. It meant so much to me. It was Ann who signed us all up for the Midnight Walk run by St Luke's Hospice in Plymouth years back - my memory is of losing all my toe nails within a week of the event!

At a recent celebration of Ann's life held by her family, I was struck by how many of us loved and admired her and that's when I knew it was now or never to sign up for Run Falmouth 2024. I'll probably be one of the oldest and slowest entries but I'm relying on all those who loved Ann to get behind me!

I'm running for the charity I now work for, Cornwall Hospice Care who operate St Julia's and Mount Edgcumbe hospices. Only 17% funded by the NHS, the rest comes from you. Helping to fund the only adult hospices in Cornwall means that families can make the most of those treasured last moments for our patients.

Just £24 will fund an hour of nursing care - let's see how many hours we can fund in Ann's name. Thank you!