Thanks for taking the time to visit my page.  Where to start?   

I'm not a natural runner, eat all the wrong foods and I don't like training so why on earth am I even attempting this challenge?  Because running has changed my life.  It hurts (oh boy it hurts) but the buzz you get when you cross the finish line is like childbirth and you simply forget the pain (well...maybe not when you try and climb the stairs haha).

I've met some of the most amazing people and heard some truly inspirational stories, just by taking the time to run next to someone for a little while and ask how they're doing.  Sometimes it's nice to forget about getting a good time and focus more on the journey.  I've helped people that have been struggling and stayed with them til the end - and seen their faces when they achieve their goals - that's worth more than any PB.  It's a very selfless thing to do, but I've also been on the receiving end and been eternally grateful that someone cared more about me than impressing their friends.

A car crash in 2000 left with a bent spine and useless degree in Sports & Exercise Science so I never thought I'd run a mile let alone 26.2.  I was angry that I'd worked so hard and some drunk idiot took it all away when he rammed his car up the back of mine.  I lost my mum in 2004 to an aneurysm - the last time we spoke we had a row and although I said I was sorry before they turned off the life support machine, I still regret never making peace.  I was 37 weeks pregnant with my first child when she went and it's so sad that she never got to see her grandchildren.  My violent husband was arrested on my doorstep in 2006 after abusing me and my children - he hasn't seen my girls in 7 years and I tell you what the day he said they were hard work is a day he'll regret as they are the most beautiful wonderful human beings and it really is his loss and my gain.  Bringing up 2 children on your own whilst working full time with no support or help is sometimes soul destroying - but I wouldn't have it any other way - they are my creation and bring me so much joy as well as stress!  I watched my dad battle cancer, 2 strokes put him in intensive care, epilepsy and diabetes.  He too has an aneurysm and as soon as I gave birth I was called in to be screened - luckily I was given the all clear. I find myself looking up at the sky and sometimes asking "why me? what did I do to deserve this?".  They say though that if we all threw our problems in a pile we'd soon snatch our own back....makes you think...

Someone once told me I couldn't run a marathon so in 2012 I set out to prove them wrong and finished what I thought would be my first and last marathon.  So why the hell am I doing this? 52 marathons in 52 weeks? That's insane! Well the truth is I've battled depression since 2001 and I blame my GP - he told me running was the best form of anti-depressant going...although I don't think he meant for me to go to the extreme!  But he's right...there's something about lacing up your shoes and crossing the start line all with the same goal in mind...to finish.  Run, walk or crawl we're in it together - by the end our feet hurt, our legs hurt, we're drenched in sweat and we don't smell quite as fresh as when we started - but we do it.  We reap the rewards of our training and grin from ear to ear when they put the medal round our neck.

Depression came back to bite me on the bum at Christmas 2013 - nothing caused it, no one caused it but I was in a bad place and was unfortunately signed off work for 3 weeks while the doctors and a wonderful team at work got me back on my feet.  I was embarrassed to ask for help and ashamed to tell anyone what I was going through.  I vowed to myself that I'd never ever put my family through that again and now I want to help anyone who has to confront this illness and give back what some wonderful people gave to me.

I couldn't even begin to attempt this challenge without the wonderful man in my life, who I met crossing Tower Bridge on my first marathon.  John is a true runner - he trains 6 days a week and can finish a marathon, have a bath, a 3 course meal, a snooze and then make his way back to the finish to cheer me in.  I'm not fast, but I run the same course and get the same medal - he is my inspiration and I hold him on a pedestal.

So who told me I couldn't do it?  Oh that person was me - I'm not often wrong...but maybe this time....