*Update* After completely messing up my knees to the extent that I couldn't even walk, the running got put on hold at the start of the year. So I rearranged my 10k for September to give me time to recover and then train again, and somehow that's snuck up very quickly! So on the 16th September I'm going to be running 10k through Kew Gardens and would love it if you would sponsor me - Mind are still amazing, and I'm still very unprepared!

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Anyone who knows me will know that me and exercise are not two things that go together! And yet for some reason I've been convinced to sign up for some running challenges for 2017!

To start the year off, I'll be taking part in R.E.D. January - a challenge to Run (or walk) Every Day for 31 consecutive days throughout January. I'll be giving up my oyster card, and walking to and from work for the whole month, whatever the weather - something I optimistically thought I might do every day when I first moved here, and yet have only managed once in the last 5 months! 

I'll also be following a couch to 5k running plan throughout the month, and thought I'd sign up for a 5k run in February to give me some motivation to actually stick to the training. Unfortunately I couldn't find one to sign up for, so I foolishly decided to up it to a 10k instead! So on 9th April 2017 I'll be taking part in the the Brighton Marathon 10K.

These may not sound like the most impressive challenges, but to say that I'm currently unfit would be a massive understatement. Apart from a brief spell of hitting the gym for about a month earlier in the year in preparation for my Kilimanjaro climb (and even that wasn't enough motivation for me to finish the couch to 5k plan!), I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I've done any exercise in the past few years. 

I'm partly doing this for selfish reasons (I've been telling myself for ages that I need to get fit and lose some weight), but I'm also going to be trying to raise some money for Mind. Poor mental health is something that's affected me personally to various degrees throughout my adult life, as well as so many of my friends and family. Mind do some amazing work supporting people with mental health problems, as well as fighting to eliminate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health.

If you are able to sponsor me, any amount would be so appreciated! In exchange I promise to love you forever, and annoy you with lots of annoying Facebook posts over the next few months about how the training's going/how much I hate running!