I took up running 7 years ago because my mate Ian challenged me, "Anyone can run" he said.  I suppose you could say he was right, I can run, the question is just how far?  Well, it's time to find out because on April 25th I'm running the London Marathon with my friend Anna. There is a rather fetching photo of us - click on the number 2 next to 'Photos' (this is just under the picture of me and Ruby) to see us not looking our best.

Before I go on I need to explain about the charities I have chosen to support:

Twenty One and Co and Woking Hospice.

Her Majesty's Tax Office wont allow me to have two charities on one Just Giving page so to complicate matters I have two separate sites.  I have chosen these charities to honour two very special people.  The link to my other site is www.justgiving.com/Anna-Lisa.  I will let you decide which charity you choose to support as either are worthy causes and of course there are no barriers to supporting both!  The higher target on the hospice site is in reflection of the substantially higher funds they require to operate but I would love to beat both targets.

So now let me tell you about Ruby, one of the special people I mention.  Ruby is 5 years old and I was lucky enough to be Ruby's support worker during the three years she attended our nursery.  Her gentle, friendly manner, and the determination she showed to overcome difficulties which lay in her path, never ceased to astound me.  She brought a smile to my face everyday.

There is a social and support group called Twenty One & Co for children like Ruby with Down Syndrome and their families in South West London and Surrey.  You can find out more about their work by linking to their site from this page of Just Giving. I know they would benefit from financial help in order to continue their great work. 

Through my support of Twenty One and Co I can say a big thank you to Ruby for the joy she brought to me and continues to bring to others.

 

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.