Dear Friends and family

So here we go again. This year on the 6 of October, I will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon at Hyde Park. I will be raising again for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity.

Last year I raised an amazing amount of £1,340 for Great Ormond Street. (including matched  giving) I completed the Silverstone Half marathon at a respectable time of  2 hrs 2 mins 10 seconds. This year I hope to improve at finishing at 1hr:59 mins, and raise as much as I did last year.  

Great Ormond street charity aims to raise funds over £50 million a year. To make sure the hospital remains the world-class pioneering institution it is today. Fundraising events helps them to buy vital equipment, fund pioneering research and most importantly rebuild and refurbish some of their hospital site. This redevelopment will allow them to replace inconvenient, cramped and outdated wards with new facilities where parents can sleep alongside their children and will mean that children have more space in which to get well in.

Four and a half years ago I became a mother for the first time. My daughter (Emma) was born with a congenital problem where her esophagus and her trachea were joined to her lung (TOF –Tracheal esophageal Fistula). In many occasions babies born under this condition are unable to breathe and eat. Without corrective surgery children don't survive. Great Ormond street hospital performed a corrective surgery when Emma was merely two days old. The operation not only save her life, but immediately made her better. The outstanding care given to my daughter during her first days of her life was second to none. Great Ormond Street Hospital and it’s people have touched the lives of so many children and their families. We are one of them, and I continue to be grateful for the world-class treatment my little girl received during her stay.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Maria