I'm planning on doing the great north run for the first time this year. I'd never ran a day in my life before signing up for this, so this is going to be a tough challenge for me. However much I manage to raise is going to be split in half and go to 2 great causes.

One half will go to the QE's SCBU. This is very close to my heart as my oldest child was born 2 months early at 32 weeks and spent the first month of her life here. The staff and hospital were amazing with my her and myself and Ive always wanted to give back to them. However they constantly need to raise funds to ensure special care babies have access to life saving equipment.

The second half will go to the Gibside school. This is an outstanding special needs school, where everyone works in partnership to ensure pupils reach their true potentials. However they rely on donations to help with buying specialist equipment. A good friend of mine has a son who attends here and the difference in him from when he first started is amazing. It's a school where parents can send their children and can relax in the knowledge that their child has the best care, all their needs are met and are safe.