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On 19 April 2026 I am hoping to complete Newport Marathon, and in doing so raise much needed funds for the charity Vizsla Welfare.

Vizsla Welfare is a charity very close to my heart, and one I am proud to support both in fundraising and more recently as a volunteer Welfare Officer.

While I've fundraised for HVWC on many occasions in the past, joining the welfare team really has opened my eyes further to the wonderful work this charity does. Work that goes beyond "simply" (and it's often not) rehoming dogs, but also in supporting those dogs and their new owners through their lifetimes. Dogs who may have behavioural problems after a less than ideal start, or medical problems requiring ongoing help.

In addition to rehoming, HVWC also support research into key health issues that effect the breed, and in raising awareness of vital health testing.

The charity is entirely volunteer run by an incredibly dedicated bunch of people, and relies on donations to continue to give as many dogs as possible that second chance at a good life.

This is a big challenge for me, despite being a regular and relatively competitive runner. I've only run one marathon, in 2018 just a couple of years after I started running. Every one of my five attempts to train for one since then has gone wonderfully well until the eleventh hour, then something went wrong.

(In order: 2019 mid-race fall, 2020 a global pandemic - didn't see that coming, 2021 a previously undiagnosed congenital heart condition - really didn't see that coming, spring 2022 knocked over by someone else's "friendly" dog, then finally Autumn 2022 the fittest I've ever been contracting Covid 10 days before the race).

At which point I gave up on training for marathons and focussed on shorter races.

But it's always been unfinished business.

Training this time round has been far less than ideal and I've had to reconsider the sort of time I'm aiming for. My feet probably won't sensibly take another marathon training cycle so this is almost certainly a last blast, and I am in equal measure terrified and excited.

So please do support me, and support this great charity at the same time. Thank you!

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.