Well, where do I start...... Last August I was challenged to run a marathon and I accepted, bearing in mind that I had never done any running in my life.  The training started and the first time I ran for five continuous minutes I thought it was a miracle, now I have lost three stone and  I can run for hours! (I still need to lose more weight though). The next challenge was choosing a race and a charity, so we finally settled on the New York Marathon on 1st November and Make-A-Wish-Foundation.

The Make-A-Wish-Foundation was founded in the UK in 1986 and funding events are vital in enabling them to grant magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses. At any given time, over 20,000 children in the UK are living with life-threatening conditions and they aim to grant 21 wishes a week by the year 2010.  Whether a wish is to be a princesss or a policeman for a day, own the latest computer equipment, meet a favourite celebrity or just enjoy some special time away from home with their family, a wish come true brings so much to a child's life and provides memories for the family that last a lifetime.

The training is hard and running in the Rob Roy Challenge (16 miles off road accompanied by my youngest daughter and chief motivator Sophie ) in June, was a real test (see photo on photo link) and I am now facing the fact that November is fast approaching! Thanks for taking the time to visit my 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 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 thank you again - Mandy