For anyone who's known me for more than a short time, this might come as slightly surprising, but ..... I'm running the Bath Half Marathon this year!  Yep - lazy ol' me is getting off my ass and running 13.1 miles.

This is frankly terrifying as I don't think I've even walked that far in a single day before, never mind attempting to run it.

So why am I doing this?  Two reasons:

1) to prove to myself I can

2) to raise some much needed cash for Alzheimer's Society.

Tragically, we lost my mother in 2007 to Alzheimer's.  She was just 65.  It might not be something you're aware of, but Alzheimer's can attack at any age, although it is more common in the elderly.  There are currently 16,000 people in the UK with diagnosed Alzheimer's under the age of 65.  Over the age of 65, 1 in 14 people are affected by some form of dementia.  That rises to 1 in 6 by the age of 80.  That's an awful lot of us who are going to be affected by this disease one day.

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's, and the treatments that are available can  only temporarily alleviate symptoms or attempt to slow down the progression of the disease.  Nobody knows why Alzheimer's occurs, or whether it's inherited.  Basically speaking, there is still a huge amount unknown about something that affects so many.

So, now you know why I'm raising money, let's talk how.  13.1 miles.  Running.  I've been training since December (which is impressive for someone with my incredibly short attention span!), and I've run with blisters and a chest infection.    In the cold, in the mud, in the dark, in the rain.  And on March 11, I'll be running in Bath.

If anyone has some money to spare to put towards this great cause, something which could one day help any of us, and fancies making my blisters a little more worthwhile, I would love you forever.  Honest.

Here ends today's begging.

*****************************

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.