Well, I did it!!  A huge whopping heartfelt THANKYOU  to everyone sponsored me. I ran Brighton marathon (flat-ish course) on Sunday 15th April, 2012 in 4 hours 9 mins, Lancaster marathon (mountaineering!) on Sunday 24th June, 2012 in 4 hours 40 mins, and finally Preston Guild marathon (undulating) on 28th October 2012 in 4 hours 19 mins.   I couldn't have got through all the months of training in all weathers without your support and knowing that we were raising money for a fantastic organisation, ALERT. 

As you know, I am passionate about this conservation project which is dedicated to the rehabilitation and reintroduction of lions in Africa.  If you think there's plenty of lions in Africa, think again. The last time I was there, I spent time looking at the estimations of how many wild lions are left in each African country.  It was depressing.  When you're seeing numbers as low as 10, or recent extinctions from a country, you realise how desperate this situation has become.  

I know how vital funding is for this project to continue its work.  Since I last ran for them, ALERT have successfully released two self-sustaining lion prides.  One in Zambia (Dambwa) and one in Zimbabwe (Ngamo).  You can follow their progress through ALERT's own webpage (www.lionalert.org), or on their Facebook page (or mine).  The money we've raised will help enormously in supporting the lion prides and the local community who this project supports in terms of funding the school, employment, and ensuring lions and people can live side-by-side.

 It sounds such a cliche to say 'every penny counts' but it is absolutely true.  Anything, whatever you can spare, is most gratefully received.  I run because I hope it raises awareness and funds for lion conservation. 

We all love photos of lions roaming free.  Unless we help conservation projects like ALERT, this is all we'll have.  Trust me, seeing lions roam freely is much much better!  Knowing you contributed to that, guarantees warm smug feeling!

 Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Jackie : )

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