Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

So I will be 42 when in April I will be running my first ever marathon - the London Marathon.

I am overweight, unfit and haven't done any serious form of exercise in twenty years.

Unless walking to the pub counts!

So why the sudden urge to run a marathon? And why run for P.A.R.C.?

I have a gorgeous 5 year old son, Jude. He has austism.

My wife has had a period of very ill health and has been in and out of hospital for over 2 years now. She had had 4 major operations - more than one of which almost certainly saved her life. Even without the added problems that any disaibility poses, caring for, and raising a child can be difficult enough at times (but very rewarding), but doing so with a very ill wife is even harder - especially when you still have to work to try and pay the mortgage.

I certainly would not have been able to cope with all of this without the help and support that our family has received (and continue to receive) from P.A.R.C. They are just simply fantastic.

And there are many other families and children, including a number of Jude's friends, that also benefit from the work that P.A.R.C. and their staff do.

Thankfully, my wife seems to be on the mend and so now I am running the marathon to help this small, but important charity, without which mine and many other families lives would be just that little bit harder.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my page and please help me to help P.A.R.C. by donating - and don't foget to gift aid your donation!

And thank you P.A.R.C. for helping me to keep me relatively sane through an extremely difficult time.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Parc (Essex) gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

UPDATE: 13th December 2009

Well, I've now given up smoking (2 weeks) and since I started training nearly 2 months ago I have lost nearly two stone in weight! I am still not able to run great distances yet. 2 -3 mile runs, a couple of times a week, are the norm currently. I did manage one 5 mile run. But this took me quite a few days to recover from, so I won't be doing that again just yet.

I now own a bicycle, have gym membership (that actually get's used) and despite the cold, wet awful winter weather am doing something towards getting me ready at least 3 - 4 times a week. I know the distances need to be longer, but I am getting there, slowly. I have also booked to run a half marathon on 14th March in preparation for the big one.

Finally, can I say a big thank you to everyone who has already donated and also a big thank you to Chris Elms Personal Fitness Clubs. I can highly recommend these guys. They are very good and not only are they helping me enormously with getting fit but they also gave me a sizeable reduction in my fees. I'll be adding that money to the pot as well in April.