Story
<p>Thanks everyone for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</p>
<p>For many years my ambition has been to take part in a Marathon. As some of you may know, having failed 4years running to get into the legendary London Marathon, I decided, way back in 2011, to enter the Brighton Marathon 2012.</p>
<p>Time marches on, and being in the proud possession of a Freedom Pass, I thought I should "just get on with it" before I ordered my Zimmer frame and mobility scooter.</p>
<p>Training started on 12th December 2011 and I have been conscientiously running 4 times a week with the fifth day cross training (cycling/swimming) even getting up at 5.30 am every morning on holiday in Burma to go out and run round the stupas, armed with a stick to ward off ferocious dogs. Talking of dogs my next door neighbour Hector has been my regular training buddy! (see picture). Mileage has slowly increased week by week and with 2 days "off" each week my knees have survived (almost,as you will see at the end of my "story")</p>
<p>Now, with two weeks to go and over 350 miles "in the bank" including a 20 mile run round north London last week, (Freedom pass very handy when you end up in the leafy avenues of Holland Park,) am getting very excited about <em>actually running </em>those <span style="color: #993366;">26 miles 385 </span> yards around Brighton.</p>
<p>I have, in the past run a couple of half-marathons, notably the Royal Parks Half,and last year I decided to support SPANA, a charity about which, I'm sure, most of you know very little. </p>
<p><span style="color: #339966;"><strong>SPANA’s work doesn’t just provide a lifeline for working animals; it also helps the thousands of people who depend on those animals for a living.</strong></span></p>
<p>SPANA’s<br>• £5 will buy a pair of hoof cutters, giving relief from painful feet to hundreds of hard-working horses and donkeys<br>• £15 will cover the cost of feed and bedding for a five day stay for an injured donkey recovering at one of our animal hospitals<br>• £25 will pay for a visit to an animal hospital by local school children, where they will learn to respect and value animals and their environment.</p>
<p><br>By kindly sponsoring me to run the Brighton Marathon you will be helping working animals in the marathon journeys they often complete every day of their lives.</p>
<p>Any contribution will be such a help and I can honestly say that this will probably be the first AND the last Marathon I will run, especially since I fell flat on my face on an extremely hard pavement in High Barnet yesterday whilst on a 12 mile run, "school boys knees and elbows" to prove it! </p>
<p>if you can find it in your hearts to give a little to sponsor my cause it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>So please dig deep and donate now.</p>