As many of you may know I'm quite a keen runner and have taken part in a few events including the London Marathon in 2012. For the last two years I've taken part in the Yeovil half marathon, last year completing the route in 1 hour 28 minutes and coming 40th out of the field of 811. This year my aim is to beat that time but to also use my love for running to help a good cause by raising money for the charity Action for M.E.

About 20 months ago I met my girlfriend Rebecca (or as many of you may know her as Becca) and we've been together for just over a year now. When we first started talking she told me that she had a condition called M.E which stands for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Now you know why they shorten it to M.E haha). But like many conditions which aren't heavily publicised I knew little about M.E or how it affects people who suffer from it. I read a bit about M.E and witnessed first hand from Becca how M.E can have an affect on not only the person with the condition but also their family members. Luckily Becca is very strong willed and doesn't allow M.E to control her life. She is well on her way to acheiving her Masters in Archaelogy at Exeter University and I'm exceptionally proud of her.

There are 250,000 M.E sufferes across the UK. The list of symtoms is extremley long, a few of them are persistant exhaustion, having continuous flu like symtpoms, recurrent sore throat, aching muscles or joints, headaches and migraines, abdominal pains, sleep disturbance, problems with concentration, problems relating to the nervous system and digestive system too. These are only a select few of the effects, if I listed every single one I don't think this text box would be big enough. Personally I couldn't imagine how to cope with a condition that seems to affect so many aspects of life. It's a true testament to anyone with M.E on how they deal with the condition.

The thing that shocked me most was that a condition that affects 250,000 people in the UK barely recieves any Government funding at all. There isn't an instant cure for M.E but the more biomedical research that can be completed, the better chance that one day the lives of M.E sufferers can be made easier.

Action for M.E is the UK's leading charity for people affected by M.E. They offer support and information to people affected by M.E while campaigning hard for better public services and more biomedical research in to the illness. To enable them to do this vital work they rely totally on gifts and donations. So no matter what size donation you can make, the difference it will make to this charity is massive.

I would be unbelievably grateful for any donation you can make to this good cause.

If you needed any more motivation to donate, after the race I will buy a drink for everyone who donates if I can run the half marathon in under 1 hour 25 minutes.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my page :)

Much love Ash