Okay, so let's be honest. After Manchester Marathon I thought I'd never run a marathon again. Ever. Ever.

However, when Neil got into London Marathon through the ballot I got itchy feet and decided to give it another go. One year old & wiser, and all that....

Plus, I now have a list of things I have learnt from the last hellish 26.2 miles - 

1. Don't book a holiday the day after a marathon. As you could end up in A&E and on crutches / co-codamol.
2. Those long training runs are dull. Even with unlimited Britney. So I've got Neil this year :)
3. You'll be very jealous at seeing friends & family cheering you on with wine when you still have 10+ miles to go. Make sure you celebrate with wine at the end (I did this one).
4. If your hip hurts, don't run (thanks Mum)
5. If it's sunny, wear sunscreen (thanks Mum, again!)

Now on a serious note, I looked into a number of different charities who I could run London for. And after much research I chose Crimestoppers.

They provide an anonymous way to report crimes, for those who are too scared or vulnerable to contact the police directly, and offer a chance of freedom from pretty horrific crimes.

I didn't realise they were a charity before and I was amazed at the scale of the work they do to keep our community safe which I feel is overlooked by so many who just aren't aware (check them out for yourselves - https://crimestoppers-uk.org/about-us/our-vision/)

So expect my Facebook, Instagram & Twitter to be a less of a wine-by-wine account of 2017 and more an ode to how bloody hard it is to train for & run a marathon (plus a snapshot of all the great work my charity does). Expect lots of running shots, with the occasional wine for celebration / pain relief.

I've done a number of runs in the past and never asked for charity donations before as I've saved it for the BIG ONE - London! So please, any donations big or small are much appreciated (as are words of wisdom & encouragement and Body Glide). 

Thank you.

Nat x

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