Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The Charity

I am raising money for Downs Syndrome North East (http://www.dsne.org.uk/), a wonderful organisation that supports all people with Down’s Syndrome and their families
and friends, covering Northumberland, Tyneside, Wearside, Durham and
Teesside. 

They are ran entirely by volunteers who do amazing work.

My Son Charlie was born with Downs Syndrome, and throughout his life this fabulous organisation has aided him, his friends and all of us in so many fantastic ways - as it has done for countless families.  This is all thanks to the generosity of the DSNE volunteers and charitable endeavours such as this. Any donations are enormously appreciated and will serve as excellent motivation as I attempt to drag myself around the course.

The Target

My initial fundraising target for Downs Syndrome North East was £1194.20 but after an overwhelming showing of generosity, this was hit within a day. The new target will now be set to £3000, but in order to try and hit that, it seems only fair to add another challenge.

The Plan & The Promise!

In order to raise as much money as possible, I'll be running the Great North Run. It'll be my seventh attempt, but I want to make it my very BEST. It's the world's biggest half marathon, and though I'd "retired" from it a few years ago, I'm setting an extra challenge to top the cash up. My best time as a much younger and slightly fitter man was 1:47. To show my commitment to the training and the run itself I'll pledge to add an extra £5 per every minute I finish over that time. If somehow I beat the time, I'll add £10 anyway out of the money I only would have spent on pints and takeaways. 

In light of hitting the original target and subsequently increasing it, I've also decided to raise the stakes. The Great North Run is 13.1 miles, so as a thank you for the initial donations and to drum up support for the next goal, I will run the GNR's distance in training every month between now and the big day. A half marathon a month between February and September, with the times/dates of the runs posted online as evidence.

This cause is obviously special to me and my family, and I can speak personally to where every penny you donate goes. Sincerely, thank you again for visiting the page, and for any donation you decide to make to this worthy cause.

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