Before this year, my most recent experience with running was Year 8 cross country. The PE teachers timed us and put us into groups. Most of the kids were in the top or middle group. The handful of stragglers at the back had a group of their own: the group for the kids who didn't know what they were doing. That was me. Needless to say, I did not develop a life-long love of sport and exercise.

Almost twenty years later, something changed. I hit my thirties and I noticed that some of my clothes were getting tighter. I could no longer eat what I liked with no care for the consequences. How could I lose weight without giving up pints and chicken wings?

The only option was to run. So this April, I banished the memories of youth from my mind and downloaded the 'Couch to 5k' app. Perhaps it was the absence of a shouting PE teacher, perhaps it was the growth spurt I'd had in my teenage years, but as I launched myself forward, one foot in front of the other, I didn't hate it. In fact, I felt a smile emerging. I actually liked it. And by the end of the 9 week programme, I discovered I wasn't bad at it either. I was already running further than 5k. The Year 8 curse was finally broken!

By coincidence, I received an email the same week that I finished 'Couch to 5k'. It was an invitation to run the London Marathon in October, in support of the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers (SDCAS). I don't know whether it was the endorphins from the running or a beer-and-wings-induced stupor hanging over me, but I agreed to the challenge.

So this is why you're reading this now. I need to raise £1500 before the 3rd of October. And the money could not go to a better cause. For 25 years, SDCAS has supported asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world, providing advice on immigration, benefits, housing, personal health and education; mental health support; English classes and activities like gardening, art and outings. Last year alone they helped well over 1,000 people from over 30 different countries from Afghanistan to Uganda, with many from Syria, West Africa and Iran and Iraq.

It turns out that being quite good at 'Couch to 5k' isn't the same as being able to run a marathon. A marathon is 42k. I'm beginning to learn how far that is... Of course, my efforts to run are nothing in comparison to the struggles faced by those fleeing torture and persecution. But your support would give me some much needed encouragement to cross the finish line.

If you can afford to donate to the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers, please do. You can read more about their work on their website: www.sdcas.org.uk

---------------------

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.