I am running the very first Brighton marathon on 18 April in aid of Refuge (www.refuge.org.uk), a national charity for women and children who experience domestic violence, providing emergency accomodation  and emotional and practical support.

It took me three London marathons to break the 4hr mark - in 2009 I only just managed it by scraping in at 3h 59m.

I am asking people to sponsor  me on the basis that this time I hope to do it in less than 3h 45m. This is significant as it qualifies as  a 'good for age' time to big marathons such as London - it's going to be very difficult for me, so although I have run marathons before this one will be a particular challenge requiring lots of sponsorship for a very worthwhile charity.

I swore I would never run marathons again once I had broken the 4hr mark but this charity offered me a place and I thought it was a very worthwhile cause.

I don't normally run for charity so if you could sponsor me just this once I won't ask again! Your sponsorship will help me get through the gruelling training.

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 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.