<p>Thanks for popping by my JustGiving page.</p> <p>As most of you will know, i'm not a massive fan of running. In fact I only took it up to complete this challenge that I set myself of taking part in the Bath Half Marathon (spurred on by a very dear friend of mine). Well, i'm now well in to my training regime and the half marathon is less than four weeks away! Having never run even a 5km race before i'm a little scared as to what 11th March holds for me, but hopefully the training and the people cheering me on the day will help me complete all 13.1miles of the course. I'm not aiming to beat any world records just finish!!</p> <p>As well as setting myself a personal goal of finishing, i'm doing this to raise money for charity. As an avid reader i'll be raising money for the National Literacy Trust. This is a fantastic charity that is trying to combat literacy problems in the UK - can you imagine what your world would be like not being able to read even the simplest of things like road signs or food labels, let alone not being able to immerse yourself in the world of a great book? One in three children do not own a book of their own. The National Literacy Trust is working with children and families in disadvantaged areas, inspiring them to develop a love of reading and giving them the chance to own a book. The trust also has an innovative speaking and listening project called Words for Work. WFW brings together secondary school pupils and volunteers from the business community to explore the use of speaking and listening skills in the workplace through a series of challenging and engaging workshops.</p> <p>So, thank you in advance if you can spare a few pennies or pounds to help raise some money and improve someone's reading or communication skills. Just think a gift of &pound;7 means a child could choose a book of their own to keep, which for many will be the first they have ever owned.</p> <p>Love</p> <p>Alex</p> <p>xxxx</p> <p><strong> </strong></p>