Updated on Mar 22nd 2012 at 9:37 PM from the JustGiving API

Wow thank you all!! :) Spurring me on!!

<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Most of us live each day taking for granted our good health; we can get a cold and battle through surviving on Lemsip and the odd duvet day. For a sufferer of Cystic Fibrosis a simple cold can mean something as serious as being admitted to hospital, and at the very least increased medication and physiotherapy.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>What is Cystic Fibrosis?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is one of the UK's most common life-threatening inherited diseases.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- Cystic Fibrosis affects over 9,000 people in the UK.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- Over two million people in the UK carry the faulty gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis - around 1 in 25 of the population.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- If two carriers have a child, the baby has a 1 in 4 chance of having Cystic Fibrosis.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- Cystic Fibrosis affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus. This makes it hard to breathe and digest food.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- Each week, five babies are born with Cystic Fibrosis.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span>- Each week, two young lives are lost to Cystic Fibrosis.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>- Only half of those living with Cystic Fibrosis are likely to live past their late 30s.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>I am running this race to raise money and awareness for the good work the CF Trust undertake. My 6-year old niece has a strain of cystic fibrosis, and although thankfully she currently doesn&rsquo;t show symptoms in her digestive system, she still has to endure daily physio and medicine (which she hates!). She is a happy-go-lucky little girl, just like any other her age; getting on with her life and not letting her condition get in the way. I want to applaud her and all those with CF, whilst also aiding the CF Trust in their vital work to develop new therapies to help prolong and ease lives.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;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&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</em></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>So please dig deep and donate now.</span></p>