Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I'm doing the Swaledale Marathon (lots of hilly bits) on 9 June and aiming to do it in 4.5 hours.  Did it in 2010 in just under 6 hours so significant improvement needed! It's a beautiful and challenging trail run and I thought that if I could get sponsorship for a worthwhile cause I would be delivering much more than just satisfying a personal challenge and it would keep me going when all I will really want to do is to sit down.

The Project I chose to support is the Great Bustard Project on Salisbury Plain. This is a reintroduction project which is seeking to bring this iconic species back to the Wilshire Downs. Did you know the great bustard is the world's heaviest living flying bird and became extinct in England in 1840? Its stronghold was the Wiltshire chalk country and as a native of Wiltshire myself I recall from schooldays the bustard on the crest of the County - hence my affiliation to the Project. The Project rears chicks from Russian eggs and releases 20 birds annually - in 2009 the first chicks born in the wild for 175 years fledged - Wow! Your sponsorship, however modest, will help to fund this tremendous work and ensure its ultimate success in procucing a sustainable population for our offspring to marvel at. Thank you very much.

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.