Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'm Kevin Etherson, 36 years old, and I'd love you to sponsor me during my challenge to complete the BUPA Great North Run 2014 for SHINE.

This is a real challenge for me as I suffered several knee injuries more than 12 years ago and I have not run a half-marathon since - this is the first year since 2001 I have managed to run more than 5 miles in training!

My beautiful daughter Abigail was born 5 years ago with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, and alongside her twin sister (Kate) Abbie is a force to be reckoned with wherever she goes. Every day Abbie has a mountain to climb, from getting dressed and putting on splints to keeping up with her peers, never mind the two hours of daily medical procedures........and she takes it in her stride. My challenge is what Abbie does every day!

Spina bifida • Hydrocephalus • Information • Networking • Equality - SHINE is the only national charity providing practical support to help individuals and families affected by spinabifida and hydrocephalus. These conditions may be unfamiliar to you but 1 in 1,000 children are affected by hydrocephalus, and every day two women learn that their unborn baby has spina bifida.

I'll be running the BUPA Great North Run 2014 with SHINE chairman Richard Astle as part of his team "The Chairman's Challengers". Richard is hoping to raise £25,000 to help fund a new Health and Wellbeing Centre for people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

To learn more about Shine charity and what it does, please visitwww.shinecharity.org.uk/who-we-are

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.