Firstly, thank you for your kind interest in my fundraising efforts. My name is Susie and my motivation for raising funds in aid of The Scleroderma Society stems from the very moment I first heard of scleroderma.

To kickstart this fundraising campaign, my friend Claire and I completed a 5km Swimathon in September 2008. We swam 200 lengths of a 25m pool, which equates to just over 3 miles. It took us both a couple of hours. Now I have moved on to the challenge of running marathons, with the Flora London Marathon on 26th April 2009.

Scleroderma is a strange sounding disease and most people have never heard of it before. When I learnt I have some early symptoms of it, I was frightened, confused and tried very hard to deny it; I thought I was too young to have anything like that wrong with me. So it was there and then that I decided I would get on with enjoying life and stop worrying about what I couldn't change. As I enjoy running, I decided to step up to the challenge of marathon running.

I know the mental and physical challenges of training for a 26.2 mile race are tough; three to four hour long training runs, especially in winter, need you to dig deep and find a lot of determination. Also, keeping the symptoms of Raynaud’s at bay on long winter runs is a challenge in itself, but I won’t let that stop me!

This charity does a superb job of providing information and literature about scleroderma so that patients and their families can try and understand better what is going on with their condition and find ways to help themselves.

Furthermore, on a personal level, I have particularly benefited from having the opportunity to meet other members and not feel so alone with it! It still tickles me now to think that at a local group meeting I went to, I could shake hands with everyone in the room without having to explain once why my hands were so cold! I have been fortunate to benefit from the support of The Scleroderma Society and am therefore keen to help them continue their good work helping others with the disease, too.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: The Scleroderma Society 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.

So please sponsor me now!