Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I still can't quite believe I am going to be one of the thousands of people who will be taking to the streets of London on Sunday 21st April to take part in the Virgin London Marathon 2013 ............... and I know there are a lot of people who are shocked that I am!

For the last four years I have been lucky enough to be in London watching the Marathon. I have always been very humbled and emotional. Watching individuals of all abilities, shapes, sizes and ages pushing thier bodies to the physical limits - many doing so to raise money for lots of good causes.

I have always hated running. For people who know me from school they will remember me as somebody who played hockey and netball and loved PE but the cold winter mornings when it was cross country were my personal nightmare.

I am now 40 something (only just ish), I need to loose weight, I work full time and have 2 boys. I spend weekends at football - a touchline Mum and taxi driver and busy myself with PTA, youth football and Ladies Circle. I am an Essex girl (by postcode alone I hasten to add). So why the Marathon?

In August of 2012 I started to work for the Ormiston Children and Families Trust. Ormiston is an East Anglian based charity whose aim is to make young lives better.

The charity was established in 1981 and for the last 30 years has been heavily reliant on government and trust funding but in April 2012 this funding was cut by 45%. Ormiston currently runs over 40 services and projects. Money is needed to keep these, and more projects, running.

Children don't choose the circumstances that they are born into, but all over East Anglia children and being victimised because of their circumstances which means they are destined to follow the same paths as their parents/carers.

The types of issues they experience as children have a knock-on effect in the whole community. Ormiston has made it their responsibility to support these children. Last year over 100,000 children, young people and families were helped.

Examples of the services provided are:

Support for families affected by imprisonment - Ormiston run visitors centres at all prisons in East Anglia. They offer children's visits and family liaison services. At HMP Highpoint Ormiston delivers accredited parenting courses and a "Stories with Dad" scheme where fathers, who are in prison, read and record a story onto DVD to send home to their children.

Sexual Exploitation project - Ormiston is currently in the development stages of a three year project delivering sexual exploitation awareness to young people aged 13-16 in Ipswich and Lowestoft and giving one-to-one support to those who have been identified as being at risk of or are in the early stages of sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation is widespread and it has such an immense impact on young people that it can destroy their lives if they don't receive the right help and interventions.

Support for parents - Ormiston run Children's Centres to offer support to parents of children under 5 years on the issues of health, employment and parenting.

MPower is a new project that works to support mothers who are caught in a cycle of repeatedly having children taken into care.

Final Furlong in a project in Newmarket that is in the process of being set up. It will give one to one support and parenting courses to families and children to raise aspirations and reduce behavioural issues.

You may not think these problems affect you but how do you know your friends/neighbours/colleagues/families at your child's school are not?

To hit my target I need to raise £60 per mile. Any amount you can give me to get me further round the 26.2 miles would be gratefully appreciated. If you are a UK Tax Payer please tick the Gift Aid box. It means that for every £1 you donate the Government will give £0.25 so £1 becomes £1.25, £4 becomes £5, £20 becomes £25.

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 dig deep and donate now and remember to look out for me on the telly - I will be the one following Gordon Ramsey and James Cracknell!