Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Despite saying I'll never run long distance again, I entered the ballot for the 2023 London Marathon as a token gesture, thinking I'd never get through - well I did! So, here I am, taking on the challenge yet again and REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO TRAINING IN THE WINTER EVENINGS!!  Fast forward to June 23 and I obviously didn’t make the 2023 race due to injury. I’m still injured but I’m giving it another go and have entered the 2024 race so fingers crossed my leg gets better and I get back into training!! 

Im still going to run for a charity very close to mine and my family's hearts. As a family, we would love to raise money for The Kent Autistic Trust. I have 3 children, 2 have been assessed with having autism and my youngest is showing signs that an assessment may be due in the not too distant future! My kids are amazingly beautiful - however, ASD means they have daily challenges that you can only really understand if you've lived it. They struggle socially and mask a lot of the time just to fit in. This in turn results in them becoming exhausted and overwhelmed to the point where on many occasions, they feel unable to do what neurotypical children can do - the simple things such as attending school or going to a party are major obstacles. Their autism means they cannot feel emotions in the way that most people can - I wish they knew how amazing they are but they just can't see it. I wish they knew how much they enrich the lives of everyone they meet but they don't know it. I wish they could be happy and not fraught with angst and anxiety. I wish they could just play with someone and not feel worried about it. 

We know that the staff and stakeholders at The Kent Autistic Trust go above and beyond to help people with autism and to help them feel accepted and loved. We want to say thank you for helping children with needs like ours. I'm sitting here, typing this with a tear as I know the struggles thousands of children go through and the heart ache thousands of parents are feeling, however, I wouldn't change my children for the world - they are Cleo, Xanthe and Raphael and they are just absolutely perfect. Every step of my marathon and every breath in training will be for them and for children like them. 

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