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I am running the bath half marathon to raise money for the British Liver Trust, as sadly a friend, Mark Dearling, lost his fight with liver disease in 2012.

For those of you who never had the pleasure of meeting Mark let me tell you how I came to meet him and why I felt inspired by him to do this:

I met Mark through Zenshin Dojo a karate club I attend, and spent many a thursday evening working with him when he first joined the club. Its a little bit of pressure teaching a new starter as you hope they learn something new, have fun, and want to come back week after week, but with Mark I never worried. He was determined, focused and always interested in what you had to say, his desire and fight to constantly improve was massive.

Although Mark made us aware of his liver condition, it was never an excuse for anything, and if you ask most Zenshin-ers they'll probably agree that it rarely crossed our minds, as it certainly didn't slow Mark down.

It was this, Marks fighting spirit, no excuse attitude and desire to take on new challenges which inspired me to take on the challenge of running the bath half.

Now you might think I am super fit as I practise karate, but believe me it's very different to running for 13 miles. And if you ask my running buddy, the lovely Marie, you'll quickly find out that I have had to work hard to go from sporadic jogger to regular runner. But I can say its been a great journey and well worth all the effort.

So please, please, please help me raise money to honour the memory of Mark, so the British Liver Trust can continue the amazing work they do to reduce the impact of liver disease through awarness, care and research.

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