Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am taking part in The Bupa Great North Run on the 18th September 2011 and I have chosen to raise money for The British Heart Foundation.

...So, you may be wondering why I have chosen The British Heart Foundation...Well, 2010 has been the most stressful year of my life so far (touch wood), mainly because of one thing, the decline of my dad's health. He had a heart attack in March of last year, which hit us all out of the blue, like a massive smack in the face!! Following this my dad needed heart surgery, which was successful, and we appreciate all of the care he was given throughout his time in hospital and in the rehabilitation process afterwards. Heart disease unfortunately runs in my family and my dad is not the first in our family to have suffered with it. My grandma and auntie both died way before their time from heart disease and a number of relatives have had heart attacks and have needed treatment and operations for their heart problems very recently.

My brother and I were told by the doctor when our dad was ill that, because of the family history, heart disease is likely to affect us later in our lives and we must do what we can now to try and stop it - my dad was told that he survived the heart attack because he had been so fit in his youth.

As a family we know how difficult it is to deal with heart disease and by raising money I hope to help as many people as possible. Support is everything when someone you love is ill!! It sounds cheesey, but I want to give something back and say thank you to the BHF, and I feel that this is the way to do it.

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, all donation will be greatly appreciated by me and my family, so please give whatever you can afford to this fantastic cause.

Thank you so much! xx