Having 'won' a place at the London Marathon through my running club I am not under any obligation to raise money for a specific charity. However, this feels like a great opportunity to do a little bit of fundraising. Depending on how much money I am able to raise, I am thinking of donating to a number of causes, rather than just one, and those are:

Parkinson's UK and Alzheimer Scotland. These two charities don't need much of an introduction, both incredible causes and do so much, not just for those effected by these diseases but also their family, friends and support groups. Kirsty has family members suffering from these illnesses. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, if I am able, I would also like to help in two other ways. As the place has come through the running club I contacted them to see if there was anything I could help with. A charity themselves they support young runners from deprived areas of Glasgow. Lastly, my colleague is due to represent Scotland in the cerebral palsy football world championships next month (April). The team lost their funding and are requiring the players to raise money. If I can contribute a little towards these, I would be glad to do so.

*I would be appreciative of any donation, no matter how small. If anyone wishes to contribute, but to only one of these areas, please do feel free to reach out. I am very happy to ring fence and be flexible. This would, of course, be kept confidential.

Final closing note on my progress so far. As I said in my bio, I was a semi-keen runner already and reasonably competent up to the half-marathon distance. Training has upped from running 3 times a week to 5 and is going really well. At the time of writing, I'm on week 11 of a 16 week training plan. Feeling just about confident enough now to post this fundraising page in the knowledge that I'll be on the starting line on Sunday 21st April, and in good shape to hopefully finish somewhere in the 3:30s (anything under 3:40:00). I want to enjoy the day - as much as you can enjoy a marathon - but definitely will have one eye on the clock (and the other on beating my dads PB!!). Also booked in to run the Edinburgh half marathon in late May. Want to put all this training to use and see if I can beat my PB at that distance too.