Well, hello!

On Sunday 24 October 2010 I completed the Great South Run in a time of 1 hour 34 minutes.

It was memorable for:

- being in almost constant discomfort with a stitch

- shuffling along for the last few miles, feeling like I was wearing invisible plaster casts on both thighs, and

- the guy who removed my timing chip telling me that I need new trainers. (Yes, the photo on this page isn't far off the mark.)

As I hammered my quads during training, I'm carrying forward my challenge to also run the Great North Run in September 2011.

I'm still aiming to run the combined 23.1 miles in 3.5 hours or less... which leaves me 1 hour 56 minutes for the Great North Run.

Why? Good question!

I want to raise at least £500 for the Stroke Association - the only UK-wide charity solely concerned with combating stroke.

In the UK, someone suffers a stroke every five minutes. It is our third biggest killer and leading cause of severe disability. 300,000 people have difficulty speaking, understanding, reading and writing because of a stroke -simple pleasures that most of us take for granted.

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 the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please, please, please (please?!) dig deep and sponsor me now.

Many thanks

Amanda xx