I'm part of a 40 strong group of people taking on the 2019 Great North Run with the aim of raising £40,000 between us for Alzheimer's Research UK.

I've always wanted to take part in the GNR and I'm looking forward to it. Although I'll probably do my usual of underestimating it, not training hard enough, not pacing and generally making things hard for myself. 

I always think if you're asking people to donate, it should be something that really pushes you. Being honest, this probably won't. Apart from the crowds of people and inevitable queues. I'm really not good around lots of people.

But it's such a worthy cause, and such a horrible disease. The Forty by Forty team is led by Marge whose step-dad has mixed dementia. Most of us know someone living with dementia (myself included) – today there’s over 850,000 people diagnosed in the UK, but this is predicted to reach 2 million by 2051.

Anything you can give will go to researching the disease. Alzheimer’s Research UK receive no government funding for their research and are completely dependent on supporters to fund their research programme.

Please give anything you can. In return for your generosity, I'll match whatever I've raised by race day on Sunday 8 September.

I also need to tell you this:

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.