You may remember that I took up running after Elin was born to try and lose my baby spare tyre and I started wheezing round Llangarron with my 4 legged pal Garron. It took a while but gradually I didn't seem to be so out of puff and in a rash moment I joined Spirit of Monmouth running club in 2011. The club encouraged me enormously and are a super, friendly bunch. Needless to say, I got the 'running bug'!

In 2011, I ran my first half marathon in Cardiff and was generously sponsored by family, friends and patients enabling me to raise £800 for Ty Hafan Childrens Hospice. This year, I will turn 40 and the brood is most certainly complete with Ffion, Elin and Tom. I have long dreamt of completing a full marathon (probably rather foolishly!) and this is the year for me to give it my best shot! I have secured a place this April 26th to run the London marathon and this time my goal is to raise £2000 for Ty Hafan.

Ty Hafan is the only children's hospice of its kind within Wales for life limited children and their families. The hospice provides not only medical care but also comfort and support to the children and their families in a home from home setting. It took 11 years of tireless fundraising to open the hospice and it has now provided help to nearly 600 families in the past 15 years. Currently it costs 3.7 million pounds per year for Ty Hafan to provide it's specialist outstanding care but less than10% of this comes from statutory funding because it is not part of the health service. Therefore, for Ty Hafan to continue to provide this care year upon year, it relies upon continued kind donations and fundraising.

I am trying to raise £2000 which I realise is only a small amount of £3.7 million but every pound counts and there are children local to Monmouth that have benefited from or are currently benefiting from Ty Hafan's care. As a parent of 3 children and also as a GP knowing many local families I am aware that our greatest wish in life is for health, happiness and longevity for our offspring. Unfortunately, this is sadly not the case for all. If we are unable to provide longevity, let us instead try to provide some happiness, care and fulfilment for these children and their families.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Ty Hafan. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.