The Royal Parks Half Marathon (RPHM) 2016 was going to be my first ever half marathon, until I impulsively decided to enter the Reading Half Marathon 2016! I completed it in 02:00:02, which is 10 minutes over what I'd hoped for. I don't know whether I'll be able to ever reach that target, but my challenge is to hit it at the RPHM 2016 to raise money for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

I am a regular runner, and I've set myself several running challenges this year, including bringing my 5k time below 23 minutes and running 1,000kms in 2016. But I am terrible at endurance, unless I significantly drop my pace. Running a half marathon in 01:50:00 or less would require me to maintain an average page of 5:13 per kilometre. My average pace at the Reading Half was 5:40/km. Dropping nearly 30s/km may not seem like a lot to many, but over 21.1k it is a whole lot faster. Achieving this will be a real challenge for me!

Why Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, I hear you say. Other than being an animal lover having grown up in a house full of pets and having witnessed then the lengths people would go to in mistreating their pets, I am actually a Battersea Dogs and Cats Home volunteer. In August 2015, after many years waiting for a suitable volunteering opportunity to appear (you can only apply to open volunteer vacancies), something caught my eye and I decided to put my money - well, time - where my mouth is. I have been supporting the Community Engagement Team through delivering talks and workshops to various audiences ever since.

BDCH relies heavily on people like me who donate their time to them. This is because they do not receive any funds from the government, unlike some other large charities. Donations all come from members of the general public and some corporate donations, which means that fundraising efforts such as mine make a huge difference. With our help, BDCH has fewer tough choices to make as to how to use the money raised, and they can make sure that they give the cats and dogs that come into the Home the best care possible.

We would live in an ideal world if BDCH did not need more funds every year. But the reality of things is that ever more cats and dogs come into the Home every year, either through being gifted by a responsible owner, abandoned or found erring the streets of London, Windsor or Brands Hatch. It is super important that we keep on donating to them so they can carry on with the amazing work that they do in caring for and rehoming the thousands of pets (over 8,000 in 2015) that come into the Home. Please help me support them by donating on this page.

Thank you!