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Myself and Tom (my husband) are currently in training to run the London Marathon 2010! We have both never run a marathon before, the only professional run I have entered was a 5km run in July 2008, I must be mad I hear you say......

My reason for running this marathon is to raise funds for a very important charity that is very close to my heart, the Child Bereavement Charity (CBC). This charity means so much to me due to the fact that my beautiful daughter Maddie died suddenly following a short illness in January 2008, she was just 2 years old. Maddie was our first born daughter and her death was totally unexpected as she had been a very healthy child. She was admitted to hospital on a Friday morning and died 2 days later in the childrens intensive care unit at Kings College Hospital whilst we watched the doctors and nurses do everything they could to try to save her.

The CBC provides specialised support, information and training to all those affected when a baby or child dies, or when a child is bereaved. Unfortunately I know from personal experience how life changing bereavement can be and I now aim to help other families that are going through the same situation that myself and my family have. I personally found very little help was available immediately after Maddie's death, the NHS has virtually cut all funding to this area of health care, so most people like myself have to rely on outside organisations such as the CBC.

By running the London Marathon 2010, I am setting myself the biggest physical challenge I have ever faced, my daughter Amelie will be exactly 11 months old on race day and the marathon has been a great incentive to get myself back into shape. It is a challenge that I am undertaking with my fantastic husband Tom, so I have a training buddy and someone to start the race with. Together we will be running in memory of our beautiful daughter Maddie.

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.

So please dig deep and donate now, your support will mean more than you could imagine x

TRAINING UPDATE:

07/03/10 Ran the Leith Hill Half Marathon http://www.trionium.com/leithhillhalf/inmain.html

Fantastic half marathon from Dorking to the top of the highest point in southeastern England - Leith Hill (and back), an absolute killer, possibly a bit crazy to attempt as my first half marathon but I loved every second of it, and I didn't finish last!!!!! (time 2:22:55)