Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I have just obtained a place to run The London Marathon 2011!  First hurdle (involving a written application and telephone interview) overcome!  Further hurdles to go are the training (all those winter evenings running in the dark!) and the marathon itself (will the knees hold out? Will I make it under 4 hours as I hope?)  But what feels most daunting and most important of all, is whether I will reach (or ideally exceed) my target of raising £2500 for The Princess Alice Hospice.

This is so very important to me, as this is the hospice which looked after my Dad until he passed away on 21/12/2009 and afterwards offered support to my mother.  My mother works for their local shop and I think in it's own way this has helped her afterwards.

My Dad always held the hospice nurses in such high regard -his last words in fact were to the nurse who had come to try to make him more comfortable -he thanked her for being a star -saying 'she was almost as good as this one' (nodding to my mum who was at his side.)  At his funeral, in place of flowers, he requested donations be made to the Princess Alice Hospice.

His wish was to stay at home and this would not have been possible without the help provided by the hospice -in terms of nurses and equipment. They provided support in other ways -with experience and kindness they gently raised issues which enabled my parents to talk about and prepare for the future, which was necessary but which had been too painful for either of them to broach.

A few years ago, I visited a neighbour in The Princess Alice Hospice.  I was struck by the cheeriness of the nurses -laughter rang out and I could not believe how they managed to bring sunshine into such despairing times.  I thought they were amazing -like angels and whilst I accept that we all will die, they seemed to do something so important -they made a difference.

I started running this year and I credit it with helping me through the dark times.  Dad walked all over London, he loved the city and it is filled with memories of us walking together.  As I started running more and more, I realised not only that I felt I could do the Marathon, but also that I HAD to.  It is my tribute to him, he would be proud of me.  I don't intend to do it again, this is a one off and I want to make it count.  By pledging money, not only will I consider you to be supporting such a worthwhile charity, but also you are supporting me, in something which has become so important to me.  Thank you so very much.

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.