Story
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">This is the big one, my first marathon! I've graduated from a few 10k's to my first half marathon back in September, and now I'm ready to take on the behemoth known as running 26.2 miles, a full on marathon! The Virgin London Marathon will take place on 22 April 2012, so my training starts now. <span style="outline-width: 0px;"><span style="outline-width: 0px;"><span style="padding: 0cm; border: 1pt initial windowtext;">I am looking forward to training hard and hopefully completing the marathon in my target time of under 4 hours.</span></span></span></span></p>
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<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="357410319-28112011"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am privileged to be running the London marathon for an important cause and charity. DebRA is the national charity working on behalf of individuals and families affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) – a rare genetic condition which causes the skin to blister and shear at the slightest friction, or even spontaneously. There are at least 5,000 people living with this devastating condition in the UK and 500,000 worldwide.</span></span></span></div>
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<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="357410319-28112011"><span style="font-size: medium;">EB has a number of distinct forms: at its mildest, blistering is confined to the hands and feet. In more severe cases, the whole body is affected and wounds heal very slowly, giving rise to scarring, physical deformity and significant disability. Blistering can also affect inner body linings, such as the mouth and oesophagus and, in its most advanced form, EB can be fatal in infancy.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="357410319-28112011"><br><span style="font-size: medium;">DebRA was founded in 1978 and provides an expert team of nurses and social care staff to work directly with families affected by EB. The charity also commissions world-leading research into the condition with the aim of finding effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for EB.</span></span></span></div>
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<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em>For those UK tax payers, don't forget to claim Gift Aid on your donations, which increases the amount DebRA receive. </em></strong></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><em> </em></strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="357410319-28112011"><span style="font-size: medium;">Your generous donation will allow DebRA to continue their important work, as well as giving me even more motivation to complete the marathon. I will keep everyone updated as my training progresses, and look forward to seeing some friendly faces on race day in April!</span></span></span></div>
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<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="357410319-28112011"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many thanks and best regards,</span></span></span></div>
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<div style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="357410319-28112011"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aaron Gill</span></span></span></div>
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