This will be my first attempt at a full marathon and subsequently my longest run. 26 miles of pure endurance: this will be brutal.

Having run for the past few years and completed two half marathons in this time, I wanted to set myself a bigger challenge for this year.

Whilst there are obvious health and fitness gains from training for such an event, it also seems like a great opportunity to raise some money for a very worthwhile cause. 

The Daisy Garland charity was set up to help children with Epilepsy and relies heavily on private donations. Having seen first hand through my sister how epilepsy can affect every part of your daily life, I'm running the Greater Manchester marathon to try and raise £2,000 to help young children get the support they need.

Any monies, big or small you can donate, would be greatly appreciated.