Okay so here's the part where I'm supposed to tell you my story...

My name is Heaven and I started to running at the end of 2015 not long after my beautiful horse Kasper unexpectedly died when we were out riding. I'm not a big exercise person but I realised that I needed to do something to get me away from my desk and out of the house. I missed doing something that was just for me and also spending time in the area I lived in rather than just driving through it in a car on my way to somewhere else.

So I started running, just short distances at first but after a few months I found I could complete 5k without needing to lie down for the rest of the day!

Since then I've been running on and off as and when my schedule allows - but to be honest it’s been rather more off than on over recent months. 

Then just before Christmas, when I was thinking about getting back into running on a regular basis, my eldest daughter Jaz told me that the organisation she works for, The Art Room, was looking for people to enter the London Marathon to raise funds for them. The Art Room is a charity aimed at children and young people who are experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties. There are currently eight Art Rooms in schools in Oxfordshire, London and Edinburgh offering art as therapy to increase children's self-esteem, confidence and independence. You can find out more about the wonderful work that they do at http://www.theartroom.org.uk/

Anyway I jumped at the chance, quickly regretted it and since that time have been coming to terms with the fact that this is a great opportunity to prove to myself that I can get fit and run a full marathon whilst raising money for a great organisation at the same time.

So here I am, telling you my story and asking you to dig deep into your pockets to make the aches and pains of all the training, not to mention what is yet to come, worthwhile.

I've never run a marathon before, or even a half marathon. Anything in fact! At the moment I'm trying to walk/run 5k four times during the week with a 10k walk/run at the weekend. I say walk/run because although I work in Coventry I live at the top of a hill in a beautiful plain at the foothills of the Alps in Northern Italy. It's a beautiful place to run but the climbs are a killer! I've managed to convince myself its good for building up the strength in my legs and the flat roads of London will be doddle. Let's see!

My pace is not the quickest. I’m currently averaging 9 mins per km so I don't think the front runners will lose any time looking behind them. If I finish I will be happy and if I do so within 6 hours I will be very happy indeed!

So, if you want to come with me on this challenging and potentially painful journey please make a donation and I will reward you with regular updates of my training progress. ..and some beautiful views along the way! 

Your support is hugely appreciated by me but more importantly by all the young people who benefit from the therapeutic services provided by The Art Room.