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<p><strong>Hallo everybody!</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Great North Run 2011 - 18th September in aid of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong> </strong></span></p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</p>
<p>I was lucky enough (!) to get a place in the Great North Run ballot and will be running on Sunday 18th September 2011 in aid of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.</p>
<p>Hearing Dogs is a charity relying entirely on donations to support its fantastic work. I've sponsored a Hearing Dog, Specks, for a few years now and have now just started sponsoring a gorgeous puppy called Ayla. View photographs of new hearing dog sponsorship puppy Ayla. <a title="Photos of hearing dog puppy Ayla" href="http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/ec7403f13afe4e4f9aba5b207600ef74" target="_blank">http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/ec7403f13afe4e4f9aba5b207600ef74</a></p>
<p>On 30th July I visited the Northern Training Centre at Bielby,York to see Hearing Dogs in action and to hear more about the work. Thanks to Lucy, Lucy & Nikki for the afternoon and of course Olly!.Took along my friends Ann and Rachel. I received a running bib and also a pair of floppy dog ears to wear during the race! I also had my photo taken with demonstrator Hearing Dog, Olly. Olly showed how he responded to sounds such as alarm clocks, doorbells, telephones to let his owner know what was happening. I'm glad the larger dogs aren't trained to jump on you when the alarm clock goes off just putting their paws on the bed instead!</p>
<p>Having a hearing loss myself I really appreciate the work of Hearing Dogs and what a difference a Hearing Dog can make to a person's life.</p>
<p>If you are able to, please sponsor me to support their work, but if not then please still look at the website to find out more about the charity.</p>
<p>I'm training hard and have now reached 10 miles, hoping to reach 12 miles in the next 2 weeks! Thanks to my friends for their support with the training, including those at Albert parkrun and also Billingham Marsh House Harriers. I couldn't do this without them.</p>
<p>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 UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p>