Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

OK, I'll give you all a laugh!  Lucy Rutter and I decided to do the Great North Run in May/June 2010, giving ourselves just 3 months to train for the big event.  We had a few charities in mind but then stumbled across Zoe's Place and decided they were the one.  After reading about the charity we realised what fantastic work they do for the most important people.

Zoe's Place is a baby hospice, they have a base in Middlesbrough.  Zoe's Place is unique, they provide palliative and respite care for babies and infants from birth to 5 years old who have life limiting or life threatening illnesses.

Zoe is the Greek word meaning 'gift of life'.  Babies and infants go to Zoe's Place to live life to the full.  Their days are filled with play, touch and stimulation and everything is made as much fun as possible.

Any babies from the North East of England are welcomed to Zoe's Place which makes it even closer to our hearts.  The hospice offers specialist nursing care for each child, respite care for parents and carers, a 'home from home', multi-sensory room, indoor soft play area, outdoor playground, activities and bereavement facilities.

It currently costs in excess of £1 million to run the 6 cot unit and most funding is generated by the public, fundraising events, sponsors, local business etc.  That's why our fundraising for the Great North Run is so important.

Training is hard, the run will be hard.  But Lucy and I are constantly thinking of the good work of the hospice and all of those babies to get us through.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.