<p>At the time of the 2011 London Marathon I had never run more than a mile in my life (except possibly in a scool cross country when I was 11 and I came 3rd to last!).</p> <p>As training for the London Marathon I did a 10km race in July 2011 (49mins 48secs) and a half marathon (1hr 51mins 27secs). They both hurt a lot... and the next step is The London Marathon itself.</p> <p>By doing the marathon I am hoping to raise a good amount of money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf people.</p> <p>At some shows that I visited with Pooch and Mutt I have seen first hand the amazing job that trained dogs can do to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. Hearing dogs trains dogs to act as the ears for deaf people - alerting them to a variety of sounds from door bells to smoke alarms.</p> <p>I visited the charity recently and heard talks by deaf people lucky enough to benefit from having a hearing dog. The difference these dogs makes is incredible. Deaf people often feel separated from society and the incidence of depression is incredibly high. These dogs help people to reintegrate with society and get enjoyment from life once again.</p> <p>By donating to&nbsp;Hearing Dogs for Deaf people&nbsp;you are having a direct effect on someone else's quality and enjoyment of life.... but not mine, it means that I have to run 26.2 miles (and hundreds of miles of training runs), and I am not sure there is any enjoyment in that!!</p>