Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Did I ever tell you how much I hate running?! For those of you that are aware of this will understand how serious it must be for me to dust off my trainers and get running for a charity that I really want to help make a difference to others.

In August last year my friends Richard and Lauren Compton became parents to their first child Maggie. This is normally an amazing time for new parents, however Maggie was born 15 weeks early and required a lot of specialist help and support. She was transported to St. Peter's Hospital in Chertsey almost immediately after she was born in Guildford and settled in her new home on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Richard and Lauren moved in too and were very well looked after by the whole team there, and were shown that being a parent to a pre term baby was just as an amazing experience as it is for anyone else. 

Unfortunately Richard and Lauren never had the chance of taking baby Maggie home, and after fighting a very tough battle she sadly passed away in their arms just 19 days old.

Richard and Lauren cannot thank the staff there enough despite their loss, as they gave them so much help, support and many cuddles with Maggie despite the short amount of time she blessed them with. They have helped raise over £14000 for the unit so they can continue to train their doctors and nurses to such a high level that is required for such a specialist ward. The money they have raised will also go towards new equipment that is continuously being improved for such small and poorly babies that depend on it in the early weeks and months of their lives.

So now its my turn to help and show my support. I am running the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon on Sunday 17th February 2012. I have been in training, got a personal trainer (thank you Sam), lost a bit of weight, gained some fitness and clocked up a fair few miles already, despite my hatred for the sport!

Come the 18th Feb the trainers may well be hitting the bottom of the bin so this is your once in a life time opportunity to sponsor me doing something great. Please support this fantastic cause by digging deep and giving what you can. 

You are more than welcome to come and support me on the day too!

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.