Hello!!

Thank you for coming to my Justgiving page, and hopefully for sponsoring me for the Brighton Marathon 2010!

I have been running 10K and half marathons for a number of years now, but have always wondered how I would do if I was ever brave enough to enter a full marathon. Well, this is when I find out!!

Five of us entered the Berkhamsted Fun Run in March 2009 to raise money for the Hospice of St Francis, and when they told me that they had 20 places in the first Brighton Marathon, I had to give it a go. I am 40 this year, which is a milestone in itself, but as I get older the 26.2 miles are only ever going to get more difficult. Now seems like a prime opportunity to have a go at the distance, and to raise some more money for the wonderful work that the Hospice does.

The Hospice of St Francis is an independent voluntary hospice and is a registered charity, receiving around 20% of its funding from the NHS. The remaining 80% has to come from donations, whether from individuals, local businesses, trusts, schools, community groups and Wills. In the current climate, these donations are reducing, yet there is no reduction in teh number of people that need the Hospice's help. There is no charge made for the services that the Hospice offers, the goal for which is to bring peace, comfort and dignity to people and help them live life to the full, for whatever time is left.

I would be really grateful if you would be able to sponsor me for the Marathon, whether the amount is large or small, as it all adds up and will help. The knowledge that the sponsorship will be going to such a good cause will certainly help me plod out my training during what seems likely to be a hard winter! If you woudl liek to see the course, it is here: http://brightonmarathon.co.uk/images/course%20diagram.pdf?http://brightonmarathon.co.uk/index.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Powerade%2FEuropAsist

I will try to keep this page fairly current with my progress through the training, so please come back and see how I am getting on. Once I have a better idea of how the training is going, I may even be brave enough to post a target time, but you'll have to wait a while for that!