I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone and taking on the challenge of running the Cumbria Way Half Ultra Marathon on 15th September 2018. This is a 30 mile run from Keswick to Carlisle over the fells.... something i would never have imagined myself doing!

I will be running for People First Independent Advocacy, my place of work for the last 10 years, for three reasons:

1. To raise awareness of what an amazing organisation People First is. Not for proffit organisation, People First works alongside people, who find themselves vulnerable in our community, by supporting them to speak up for themselves, to make positive changes and lead their best life possible. We do this through a range of community projects that respect everyone and truly make a difference to peoples lives. People First value everyone. Check out our website www.peoplefirstcumbria.co.uk or follow us on facebook or twitter @peoplefirst111

2. To raise funds for People First. We are currently fundraisining to support our self-advocacy groups across Cumbria. The self- advocacy groups proactively give people with learning difficulties the opportunity to get together to build confidence, learn skills to speak up for themselves and understand their rights and choices . The groups meet fortnightly and currently recive no funding.

3. To say a big thank you to People First. For those of you that know me, you will know that I had to learn quite quickly to speak up on my son’s behalf when he was struggling at school and we were trying to get him support with the difficulties he was facing. No one was listening to us and People First gave me the confidence and skills to challenge services to access support that our family needed to flourish. I will be eternally grateful.