Hi!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As Jan and I watched the simply unforgettable new year's eve fireworks over Sydney Harbour, we were full of optimism for the year ahead but sadly 2009 turned out to be a pretty cruel year for me and my family. Little did I know that on April 5th, my Mum would eat her last full meal. On June 24th, the World as I knew it changed forever as my family and I were told that Mum had stomach cancer. In the week that followed we then had to come to terms with the fact that the cancer was aggressive, advanced and terminal. On August 2nd, less than six weeks later, Mum had left us. Time seemed to stop, yet felt as quick as writing this short paragraph. But thankfully, once we got over the shock of the word 'terminal' we made every second of those last weeks count!

Mum felt passionately grateful to Macmillan for providing nurses, expert care and every kind of support to her and her family during such extreme circumstances. It was a very quick decision for me, therefore, to run another marathon and raise money for Macmillan to help them continue the invaluable work they do - and to thank them for helping my Mum and my family.

So here's what to do:

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.

I was able to tell Mum I had decided to run the marathon again and raise money for Macmillan. She smiled proudly... and her eyes said 'please drink plenty!'. This one's for you Mum. We love and miss you.

Thanks for reading and please give as much as you feel you can.

Matt x