Last year after years of swearing (yes swearing) I would never take part in a half marathon, I completed the Great North Run.

It was a tough run, as despite months of training, for the last few months leading up to it, I ran with a pain in my leg, hip and thigh. I was determined I would complete it and I did, just not in the time I’d hoped for.

I wasn’t just physically in pieces but emotionally I was too, crying just as I approached the finish and when I crossed the line.

This year, I want to get round and I want to smash that time and I need your help in giving me that incentive.

I’m delighted to be running this year for Family Fund who helped me out at a time that I needed it most. They provide grants for families who have children with disabilities and shortly after I split with my husband and Joseph was diagnosed with autism, their grant to help us have a holiday was exactly what we needed. It’s now time for me to pay that back and help other families in similar situations.

Family Fund believes that all families raising disabled and seriously ill children should have the same opportunities as others. Their grants exist to remove some of the barriers these families face, to improve their quality of life and increase inclusion. They also provide support in many other ways, including some great blogs written parents who know much about raising a disabled child!!