As you may know, I had a dizzy spell in February during which I accidentally entered the Great North Run.  I'm sure you won't need me to tell you that the GNR is a half marathon; that's 13.1 miles or, put another way, 13 miles too far!  Running that distance puts an enormous strain on the lower body, especially when it's carrying too much upper body!

 

When I entered the "race", I volunteered to raise money for the NSPCC.  There are a squillion worthy charities competing for our pound but, for me, the NSPCC took on added poignancy when I became a father.  Everyone has an idea of what they do, but the size of the challange they continue to face, in what we call a civilised society, is disturbing; a few facts for you -

 

* every 10 days a child is killed at the hands of their parent

* over a third of all rapes recorded by the police are committed against children

* every day, an average of 8 children speak to Childline specifically about suicide

* The NSPCC Helpline received over 100,000 calls in 2008; of these, over 9,000 were serious enough to be reported to the police or social services

* 87% of the NSPCC's income comes from voluntary donations.

 

Any donation you feel you can give will not only help ease my knee pain but will also help give the NSPCC the resources to 'fight the good fight'. Thank you.

 

Mark

 

PS. 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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.