Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page

I am taking part in the London Marathon in 2012 for the University of Bristol Cancer Research Fund which awards grants to some of the brightest young cancer research "stars" in the country to fund their research. Your donation will go straight to the frontline in the fight against cancer. Go to www.bristol.ac.uk/cancer/about.html for more information.

I'm running because I recently lost my father and a much younger friend to cancer. As I watched them suffer, without complaining, I was struck by how indiscriminate the illness is and how helpless we remain in so many cases. I want to run the marathon both to honour their extraordinary bravery in the face of the cruellest of illnesses and to support the vital research into the causes and treatment of cancer made possible by the Cancer Research Fund.

I've never run a marathon before. Training stepped up a gear in the new year with lots of early morning runs to work and then longer runs at weekends. My family are being fantastic and are very forgiving when I fall asleep on the sofa at 8 o' clock.

While the training is tough it is such a fantastic opportunity to raise a lot of money for a great cause and I will be inspired by the incredible courage and dignity shown by my dad and Richard right to the end.

So please please dig deep and donate now. We can make a difference.

Giving through JustGiving

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’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’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.