I'm running the Bupa London 10000 for Alzheimers Society in memory of two people, one a family member, and the other, who although I never met him, inspired me to get my trainers on and run.

My beloved Nan, in the last two or three years of her life, suffered from dementia.  I am thankful that when she died, she still knew who we were and had not deteriorated so far that the Nan I had known and loved all my life was completely gone, but she was different, and my aunt and uncle, who she went to live with, and my Mum, who helped them as much as possible, had a hard task looking after her.  She died six years ago, when I was 17, and although I miss her, I am glad that she left us before she deteriorated to a point where she no longer had any quality of life at all.  The experience has left me with something of an insight, albeit limited, into the devastation that dementia causes, and Mum and I had, before I started running, discussed doing the Memory Walk together this year.

Like all racing fans, particularly those who follow Indycar, I was deeply saddened at the death of Dan Wheldon last October.  In Indycar I support Hildebrand and Hinchcliffe, and through a combination of starting watching Indycar too late and the circumstances of last year, I never really got to know that much about Dan before his death.  No matter who you support, any racing fan is always distressed at a racer's death, and no one who read all the anecdotes or watched Dan's memorial service can be left in any doubt about what a great person he was. 

Alzheimer's was a cause close to Dan's heart as his mother has the condition, so together with my personal experience, it was obvious what I should look to raise money for when I decided I wanted to do something in Dan's memory.

I started running a few days after Dan died - as as I figured he would want me to challenge myself, instead of staying in my comfort zone by walking - from a point where I had not done anything more than walking since my last PE lesson when I was 14.  I have been building up ever since, and while 10k is not a huge distance (6.2 miles), for me it is a big challenge, but one I am determined to conquer.  I have been surprised by just how much I have loved running, and I have every intention of continuing after May. 

Finding an event on the day of this year's 500 was perfect, even if the long journey home means I will miss the first hour of the race, and I figure the really important stuff comes later anyway.  This, for me, is as big a challenge as 200 laps of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are for the drivers, and any support, no matter how small, to help me make a contribution to this important cause is much appreciated.