Many of you will know that my then four-year-old son Finlay contracted a severe form of bacterial meningitis in June 2012. It was a terrifying experience. It transpired that had he not received immediate medical attention we would in all likelihood have lost him.

I am delighted to say that Finlay has now made a complete recovery. He is one of the lucky ones. Every day many parents have to deal with the tragic loss of a child to meningitis or genuinely life-changing circumstances as a result of the disease.

Meningitis UK's sole focus is to eradicate all forms of meningitis and associated diseases. The charity funds pioneering research into vaccines and other methods of preventing meningitis. Meningitis UK won't stop until everyone is protected against all forms of meningitis.

My good buddy Alex Philip and I have decided to run this year's Edinburgh Marathon (our first marathon) to raise as much money as we can to support Meningitis UK's work. Alex and I first ran together during our freshers' week at Edinburgh University, which wasn't yesterday...

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted e-mails. Once you donate, JustGiving will send your money to the charity direct and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. It is the most efficient way to donate - we raise more whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please donate now. Thank you very much for your support. We really appreciate it.

David and Alex