Now that I have admitted to more than a few close people I have challenged myself to run the Liverpool Rock & Roll Half Marathon, I thought I would explain why......

I have always had a passion for keeping fit and eating healthy and I hope to pass this on to my children, I love hockey, cycling and skiing but I've never been a runner! I started running regularly in January and decided to sign up to the half to keep me motivated. I have my own personal goal and time I am aiming towards but running with music along the way I thought would be good fun at least! 

I remember watching my brother John cross the finish line at the Liverpool marathon and hearing his results on several other marathons thinking wow I would love to be able to do that ... so small steps I will try the half first! He has always been a massive inspiration to me with cycling and running and so is his best friend Darren Jewell who is running a marathon every month this year.

I would never have thought about entering without the amazing Lauren Wilson who helped me get my fitness back after having children and she totally inspires me every week. Such an amazing runner and person, she has found the time to send me training runs to do every week, answer all my questions and when she double lapped me on a running track recently she still tells me I am running great on her way past .. ha! Thanks Lauren for encouraging me to run and your weekly HITT bootcamp which I love. I am also massively in awe of an old school friend Rachael Fairclough who is an incredible runner, she is expecting her first baby soon and is still running strong and fast. 

Nobody has inspired me more with my health than the most amazing woman I know my mum! She taught me about healthy eating, cooking, the great outdoors and how to put your heart and determination into things. In recent years my mum Shelagh and her partner Graeme were both diagnosed with cancer which was picked up on routine screening checks. Mum with breast cancer and Graeme with bowel cancer. It hit me hard I was more upset than I said, they had a tough time together but are both now healthy, happy and have decided to get married on 5th May! They have both done so much for me over the last 20ish years (mum obviously a lot longer than 20 years!) and I don't know what we would all do without them. This has inspired my health goals more than ever before, they are an amazing pair and we all can't wait to see them get married. 

So this half marathon is for you Grandma S and Grandad G...... happy wedding day enjoy your next set of adventures together and I hope I can raise a little bit of money to celebrate being happy and healthy for cancer research x

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