A year ago I decided to sign up for the London marathon and although I didn't get through the ballot I have had the goal of completing one ever since. Quite unexpectedly today turned out to be that day. After going for a 'short run after work' I managed to get lost in a hail storm. By the time I had realised where I was and how far I had to go to get home I knew that today was the day those painful 26.4 miles would be completed. I know this goes against the whole idea of lockdown, but it was completely unintentional and so I thought why not make my mistake into something that can bring some good to others in these pressing times. The fact that I couldn't run 3 months ago because of a knee injury, and for the 4 months before couldn't because I was recovering from pneumonia makes this even more surprising that I was even physically able to do this, but 4 hours later and here we are.

  One woman in four will experience domestic violence at some point in her lifetime and two women are killed each week in England and Wales by a current or former partner. Refuge supports around 6,000 women & children on any given day, experiencing domestic and sexual violence, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, trafficking, prostitution & so-called ‘honour’ based violence. Although being in lockdown for the majority of us is hard, we are at least in a safe environment that we can call home, which sadly isn't the case for victims of domestic abuse. The work Refuge does is therefore so important now more than ever in helping to establish at least some form of security for victims. Any money you could spare would do so much good for these women and children around the UK (and lets be honest you can't spend it on anything else right now so why not put what you would have spent on a coffee towards a good cause?).