On Sunday 19 September I ran the Great North Run (a total of 13.1 miles) in memory of my baby sister, Ava.

I finished in a time of 2:02:56, beating last year's time by over a minute. For the full story of my race, visit my blog: http://mypaceoryours.wordpress.com

Earlier this year, my whole family was looking forward to a new arrival, but sadly, baby Ava was stillborn.

That's why I am proud to honour her memory and raise funds and awareness for Sands, a charity which supports anyone affected by the death of a baby and promotes research that could help to reduce the loss of babies' lives.

Did you know 17 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every day in the UK? The death of a baby is a devastating experience for the whole family, so with your help, I'd like to help Sands carry out their very valuable work to support people who have been affected.

I've set up this page to make it easy. 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 (I just get to see your lovely messages of encouragement). And if you're a UK taxpayer they'll reclaim Gift Aid on every eligible donation - so the charity gets even more.

So please, dig deep and give what you can. Thank you.

To keep track of my progress in training, please visit my running blog: http://mypaceoryours.wordpress.com/