You might be WONDERing why this WOMAN is planning to run the London marathon...dressed like this?

a) I will need extra special powers (and an invisible plane) to get me across the finish line.

b) The charity I'm running for is magic!  By sponsoring me, you will be supporting the terrific work of Merlin.  To get an idea of the impact your donation will have, think about the number of people who run the London marathon.  That's the number of people Merlin are treating each month in Darfur. 

However, they don't just respond in emergency situations.  They try to help people like Fatmata from Sierre Leone, who bled to death giving birth to a much wanted baby boy.  She didn't get the care she needed.  Sadly, Fatmata's story is not unique.  Take Afghanistan for example.  Nearly 90% of women in Takhar Province have to give birth without any specialist help!  Suddenly running a marathon doesn't sound so hard. 

Across the world, a mother dies in pregnancy or childbirth every minute. 

Merlin has set up a training programme so women from remote, rural communities can become fully qualified midwives. 

If you still need convincing, please spend 3 mins watching the video on the left - it says it all. 

Thanks so much for your support.

Sarah