Dementia is set to be the 21st century’s biggest killer and will
affect 1 million people by 2021.

So here I am, once again running the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon.

Last time, in typical me style, I recklessly did very little training, going against all the advice I have every given to the hundreds of runners I've managed in the past. This year, I'm actually going to train properly, mostly, hopefully...

This years motivation is the unlikely possibility that Ryan Gosling might actually meet me at the finish line (hey, a girl can dream...)

Some of you may already be aware, but I recently started a new job at Alzheimer's Society.

Every penny you donate to Alzheimer's Society is making sure we can be there for people affected by dementia.

Dementia devastates lives. In the UK, someone develops dementia every three minutes, and there is currently no cure. But together we will beat it, dementia will not win.

Until the day we find a cure, Alzheimer's Society will be here for anyone affected by dementia - wherever they are, whatever they're going through.

For more information on what the Society do, please visit this website:

www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-us

Please do give as much as you can, every penny helps!

£20 - could pay for a person with dementia to attend one of our Dementia Cafés for a month, where they can share stories and advice with others.

£30 - could connect people with dementia and volunteers to enjoy hobbies and activities by paying for a Side by Side service to run for one hour.

£50 - could pay for a communication tool that uses symbols rather than words to help people with advanced dementia communicate.

£100 - Could provide emotional support, personalised advice and vital information to people recently diagnosed with dementia, by funding an advisor on our National Dementia Helpline for a day

£610 - could pay for a Doctoral Training Centre to run for one day, helping up to eight PhD researchers to carry out ground breaking study in dementia research.