I ran a marathon 10 years ago in London Olympic year but disappointingly, in spite of clocking up a time under 5 hours and only narrowly losing to a guy dressed as Noddy, wasn’t selected for the Games. 

I was cheering on the marathon runners last September and the atmosphere was so amazing I thought “ok, why not?!” The memory of the pain of the last six miles had worn off and so a major sporting comeback is now underway. 

I’ve done a fair amount of training and decide that there are two types of runner. Those who get motivated by hitting the halfway point thinking “Over halfway, nailing this, nearly there” and those who think “oh ****, got to do all that again”. I’m definitely in the latter camp so will need a lot of motivation and a big incentive to get round the second half. I will also be passing the end of my road 4 times so will need to avoid a very tempting bale-out option.

In 2021 the Samaritans responded to a call for help every 10 seconds. There's no judgment, no pressure, we're here for anyone who needs someone. I’ve been a volunteer at the Brighton and Hove branch for just over three years. I love what we do and am always in awe of the incredible people who give so much to our callers. So it was an easy decision to raise funds for the branch in spite of there being so many worthwhile causes at the moment. So I really appreciate your generosity : No donations from the TrustedHousesitters team please :

If you can come to cheer on I’m aiming for about 5h30 but also hoping to see lots of familiar faces along the way to give me an excuse to stop and chat