When Rachel asked me for help with her training for the 10k at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival in May and she told me she was doing it to raise money for Menopause Cafe charity, I not only agreed to help but also offered to run and raise money as well.

I've known Rachel for a long time, seen what an outstanding job she's done with the charity and I wanted to support her and be able to help Menopause Cafe help more people.

We feel that not enough is done to support women’s health. Having a safe space to share experiences is invaluable in ensuring that nobody feels alone in their menopause journey.

For anyone who knows me, I often run marathons so 10km doesn't really seem like much of a challenge to me to inspire people enough to sponsor me and that's why I'm going to be running the 5km race as well! The 10km starts at 9am and the 5km starts at 11am. Given both races involve a lap of Arthur's Seat, I'd say that's a decent enough challenge, worthy of a donation! Not only that, but learning more about the Menopause Cafe has also inspired Allison to make a rare race appearance and join me in this double-run challenge to help make a difference. Raising lots would really help power us up Arthur’s Seat (twice!) so we would both appreciate any donation you are able to give.

It costs £20K a year, to keep Menopause Cafe charity running (pun intended). Rachel's keen to raise at least £6K and I'd like to help her achieve this.

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