I have been lucky (some might say unlucky!), to be given a Ballot place in this year's London Marathon. This is one "lottery" I thought would be impossible! I have started training and am surprised to say, that I'm actually enjoying the challenge!

Now for the reason I am doing this. My wonderful friend Susanna's life has been dramatically altered by ME. ME/CFS is a complex physical disease which affects many parts of the body and therefore causes a variety of symptoms. The 4 main symptoms of ME/CFS are:

1. Feeling extremely tired all the time (fatigue), which can make daily activities like taking a shower, or going to work or school, difficult.

2.Sleep problems, including insomnia, sleeping too much, feeling like you have not slept properly and feeling exhausted or stiff when you wake up.

3. Problems with thinking, concentration and memory (brain fog).

4. Symptoms getting worse after physical or mental activity, and possibly taking weeks to get better (also called post-exertional malaise, or PEM).

Those with ME/CFS may also have pain in different parts of the body or flu-like symptoms, such as high temperature, headache and aching joints or muscles. Often misunderstood by non-sufferers and overlooked by health professionals, this debilitating disease can spiral to poor mental health.

Please help me to raise awareness by giving any amount you can. Thank you in advance xx

https://www.meresearch.org.uk/

(Title picture Susanna and I, circa 1997!!)