For the first 27 years of my life I did not have a great relationship with sports, and I disliked most kinds of exercise. So those who have known me for a while probably thought it was ridiculous when I announced I was running the London Marathon – and to be honest, they weren't wrong. 

Despite my less than active past, I somehow decided to take up running at the end of 2015, and at the beginning of January 2016 I finally completed the Couch to 5k programme and started running regularly. This was already an achievement I never thought I'd be capable of!

And then, in April, I was watching the London Marathon on TV. I'd read so much about the fantastic atmosphere and what an amazing experience it is, and suddenly I found myself filling in the application form, even though I had never had any interest in running for that many hours or miles. But then again, the chances of getting a place were next to none, so it didn't really matter.

Until one Monday in October when I found out that I had won a place in the ballot, and I was going to run the London Marathon! 42.2 km, 26.2 miles. The most I had done at that point was 10 km. I was scared, but I was going to do it anyway.

I decided that if I was going to put myself through the torture of training for a marathon during the long, cold winter months, I wanted to do some good while I was out there. I wanted to help those who are really suffering, so I decided to try to raise some money for Macmillan cancer support. So many people got behind me and donated, and I was overwhelmed by all the support.

I spent the next few months surprising myself and everyone around me. I ran through the Scottish winter, in all kinds of weather, putting myself through horrible interval sessions and boring long runs. I completed the Inverness half marathon in March with very little effort, as I had been running the half marathon distance and more for several Sundays in a row at that point. I couldn't believe how far I'd come, and I was getting excited for the big day.

And then disaster struck. One Sunday 5 weeks before London I got injured less than half way into my long run. My physio told me he'd get me to the start line, but after weeks of worrying, sleepless nights and lots of tears, with one week to go, I had to admit defeat.

Announcing that I wouldn't be able to run after all was horrible, and I felt like I'd let everybody down as so many people had supported me, donated and cheered me on. But once again I was blown away by the support as the encouraging messages poured in.

I spent the spring and summer recovering, going to the gym and strengthening the muscles that had let me down the first time around, and after a while I was able to get back into running. It's now time to get back into marathon mode, and do it for real this time.

Bring on the London Marathon 2018!

Being diagnosed with cancer must be one of the worst things that could happen, but Macmillan want to make sure that no one has to go through it alone. Please help me get Macmillan just that little bit closer to their goal of raising 1.5 million pounds at the London Marathon – that's enough to pay for 26 Macmillan nurses for a year!

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.