There are four main reasons why I want to raise money for ARUK doing the Staines 10K.

Firstly, I want to do this in memory of my mother-in-law, Angela Teuten, whom we sadly lost in 2013. Dementia is heartbreaking and I think about and miss Angela every day.

Secondly, as a family because of how dementia has affected our family, we support the work that ARUK do. We haven't raised money for the charity in about 1.5 years and I don't want the work we've done to raise money to date to be a "one off". I want us to continuously support and fundraise for ARUK because the research that they do is vitally important. Signing up for this run and doing it for ARUK is my way of contributing to the efforts made by our friends and family to raise money for this worthy charity, as well as supporting the legacy that Angela left behind.

Thirdly, I have never run a 10K race before. In fact, I only started jogging 4 months ago. Prior to that, the last time I did any type of distance running was probably at school when I was 14 years old (almost 20 years ago now) when PE was compulsory. Last year, Richard (an avid and regular parkrunner), Jon (who did his first half-marathon last year) and Anita (who did her first full walking marathon last year) set themselves their own fitness challenges. Watching and supporting these guys as they set and surpassed their own goals has inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and to challenge myself to do something I’ve never done before.

Finally, my fourth reason: in June (2014) I weighed 15st 3lbs. My BMI was 37.7 and I was, according to the NHS, obese and bordering on “severely obese” (BMI of 40+). Not being a runner (and in fact not built to be a runner), this is a massive personal challenge for me and I want to help others (by raising money) whilst I am helping myself to become fit and healthy.

I would be extremely grateful for any support you can give as I attempt to run and complete my first sponsored charity run.

Thank you.

Love,

Shez xxx