On Sunday 13th April, I will be joining good friends Henry and Sara in taking part in the London Marathon 2008.  Aside from this being an immense personal achievement, our main aim is to raise as much money as we can for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

I am now well into my training programme and have set myself the personal goal of completing the course in under 3hrs.

Henry and Sara's son Samuel (6) suffers from Cystic Fibrosis.  Samuel is one of Lily's (my daughter) best friends and an amazing young man. As you will see from the blurb below, we are literally fundraising to prolong his life and those of many others.

CF is the UK's most common life threatening inherited disease. It affects more than 8,000 babies, children and young adults. This disease attacks the lungs and the digestive system, literally clogging them with thick, sticky mucus that makes it difficult to breathe and digest food. At present there is no cure.

Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis is intense. On a daily basis Samuel has a strict and time-consuming drug and physiotherapy regime, which we hope will extend his life expectancy. The life expectancy of a CF sufferer is currently 31years of age.
However, there is great hope for children like Samuel.
Amongst a great deal of other very valuable work, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust has been responsible for fundraising and managing the research into finding a cure for this disease.  After many years of research by a team of dedicated scientists, a treatment has now been created which is hoped can cure the life threatening element of Cystic Fibrosis.  It has been an extremely challenging task and this ground-breaking journey is by no means complete.  However it is looking very positive - clinical trials commence this year.  It is hoped that within 5 years, commercially available drugs will be accessible to Samuel and others like him.

Time is of the essence and the quality and speed of research is heavily dependant upon adequate funding being available.  Much of this work has so far been funded by the CF Trust- a Charity which is heavily dependant upon a relatively small community of families and friends of CF sufferers,  working hard to find funds to improve the life of a loved one.

Please donate what you can - in only 5 years your money could contribute to an incredible success story.

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me online. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Cystic Fibrosis Trust will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. So please sponsor me now! Many thanks for your support.

Many thanks

Oliver Gavin