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From July 2018 I will be taking part in one running event per month for 12 months to raise money for the Crohn's & Colitis UK charity. 

I am doing all this in support of a charity which is of immense help to one of my best friends Nicola in her battle with Crohn's Disease for which there is no known cure. She was diagnosed in June 2017 after battling with symptoms since Nov 2016 and since then has had 5 operations and has taken more than 10 different types of medications to try to improve her quality of life. 

Watching her battle though the diagnosis of this chronic illness and endless hospital visits and numerous operations and everything that goes with it is more than I can even begin to comprehend one human being having to deal with in such a short space of time. And yet through it all she has been nothing but inspirational in how she deals with it- she's got on with her life in the best way she can and carried on being the amazing person she is through all the turmoil. As it's such an invisible disease with no known cure I wanted to do something to raise awareness of what it is and also raise money for the charity.

About the charity:

Crohn’s and Colitis UK exists to improve life for over 300,000 people in the UK who are affected by Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and other forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These are incurable and life-changing illnesses that often start in teenagers and young adults and last for a lifetime with the disease flaring up at unpredictable times which can have a devastating impact on education, work, social and family life.

Symptoms can include bleeding, severe pain, diarrhoea, exhaustion, eye, skin and joint problems and, in the case of children, impaired growth. Medication may help but may cause side effects, and surgery may be needed, often more than once. 

The Challenge!

From July through to March I will run a half marathon each month, then in April 2019 I will be doing London Marathon, May will be Tough Mudder, and finally Endure 24 as a solo runner in June 2019. Endure 24 is a 24 hour race with the aim of completing as many 5 mile laps as possible in the 24 hour period.

I've been a keen runner for the past 7 years and have taken part in numerous 10ks, half marathons and 24 hour running races, although always as part of a team for the 24 hour ones! I figured undertaking a crazy year of events like this would massively challenge myself and would make it a worthy way to raise money. Having never run a marathon before, just the idea of this scares the hell out of me, as does the Solo 24 hour race!

This is the line-up for the 12 races:

July 22nd 2018- Down Tow Up Flow Half Marathon

August 5th- Wimbledon Half Marathon

September 9th- Swindon Half Marathon

October 7th- Salisbury Half Marathon

November 18th- Gosport Half Marathon

(December 29th- Lee Valley Velo Park Half Marathon. missed due to illness)

January 26th 2019- RunThrough Lee Valley Velo Park Half Marathon

February 17th- Richmond Half Marathon

March 17th-  Reading Half Marathon

April 6th- Thames Valley Spring Half Marathon (to replace Decembers missed race!)

April 29th- London Marathon THE BIG ONE!

May 5th- Tough Mudder London West

15th/16th June- Endure24 Solo Runner THE OTHER BIG ONE!

Any donation you can make will be greatly appreciated by myself, Nicola and the Crohn's & Colitis charity. £5000 is a big target but over the course of the 12 months I'm pretty confident I can hit this!

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.