Hello everyone and Thank you for all of your support and donations!

We have always enjoyed running however taking on a half marathon is a huge challenge but one we want to complete. We won’t be doing it alone; Helen, Andrew and Joe will be running along side us to help raise as much as we can for such an amazing charity - Pete’s Dragons.

My sister Rachael, my two children Emily 4 and Toby 2 along with Helen,  James, Andrew and Joe’s partners and children will be on the side-lines supporting us and encouraging us along the way - or giving us a shove as we struggle half way through ;-)

Pete’s Dragons are a charity set up to support families who have been affected by suicide.

The Campaign Against Living Miserably states that suicide is currently the leading cause of death for young men in England and Wales. The World Health Organisation has identified that in the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide and that suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among men and women aged 15-44.

In December 2016 we lost someone very special and someone who was so loved to suicide.

Billy was only 28 years of age when he took his own life, he had never suffered from mental illness and no one knew how low he had got. It was an enormous shock to us all and one we are all still trying to process. Everyday is equally as hard as the last so to have this to focus on will help make us feel closer to Billy and give me something positive to focus on. I don’t know where myself or my children would be without the support and guidance of everyone at Pete’s Dragons and so we want to do this to spread awareness on how great this charity is.

One of the main things that we have benefited from are the family activity days which we have already been a part of. Being able to meet others who are experiencing the same as us really helps. Some days I do feel very alone with the children so being able to listen and relate to the other families makes it slightly easier.

My target is £500 so if you could please spare some money to help this charity and spread the awareness then that would be incredible. Below is a breakdown of how they use the donations:

• £100 covers four visits to a family to give them practical advice and a listening ear

• £230 Covers a "Hug in a Hamper"

• £300 "Comfort Grant" pays for goods and services needed when a family finds themselves in financial distress

• £450 will cover the cost of a family (up to 9 people) staying in our seaside holiday home for a week

I know Bill would be sat up there, beer in his hand laughing at us for doing this and I hope he is up there cheering us on.

Thanks for reading and for your support - wish us luck!!