As some of you may know the past few years have been really challenging for us as a family. My son Joseph who is 5 years old and is the absolute light of my life is on the autism pathway (still to be diagnosed), non verbal and has epilepsy. He also struggles to understand basic instructions. I didn't know much about autism and to be honest I still don't know a great deal but as the saying goes "if you've met one person with autism you've met one person with autism" it is such a diverse spectrum. (And no he doesn't line cars up!)

I turned to running and fitness in general as a way of releasing stress from the constant worry I was facing for Joseph's future, but also to become stronger should he become physically challenging. Will my child ever talk, will he ever understand what we are saying, will he have any more seizures, will he ever be able to live an independent life, what happens when I am no longer around, the constant battles we have and are still having with the local council to get him the support he requires and into a specialist school - the list goes on.

I have done a couple of 10k charity races which have been fairly flat but never this distance or elevation before so this race is really going to test me and my knees! This whole experience with Joseph has turned me into a more resilient and determined person so I know I can do it!

I have chosen to fundraise for this Wakefield based charity "Beat Autism" due to them being local to me purely relying on donations from the public.

All funds go direct into supporting the families and their children and they pride themselves in supporting as many families as they can to navigate education and health systems that are incredibly complicated. .

This group is incredibly expensive as it is only accessible for 10 children to enable them to fully gain the experiences and sensory opportunities that we offer. Each month this group costs approx £200.

The link to the charity is below:

https://beatautism.co.uk/about-us/

Thank you for visiting my page and I am truly thankful for every single pound I can raise.