I'd never taken part in the Great North Run before and had never run 13.1 miles before, but I did it and really enjoyed being part of such a fantastic event.  I was hoping to complete the run in under 2 hours 15 minutes and am pleased to say I managed 2 hours 10 seconds!

It has also been an opportunity to give some support and profile to charities that do so much good work.  The charities I ran for are Macmillan Cancer Support and Yorkshire Cancer Centre.  Both charities do a lot of incredible work and it's important that they receive as much recognition - both financially and publicly to help them and increase awareness for the huge role they play in our communities.

They can only continue to improve the breadth of their services and the number of people they can reach through the generous support of people like you.  Donating through this site is fast, simple and totally secure.  It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: both charities will receive your money faster and if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your donation at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now and many thanks for your support.

The new Yorkshire Cancer Centre in Leeds will deliver unparalleled levels of care and treatment to cancer patients throughout the region.  This outstanding facility will centralise and expand many of the existing cancer treatment services for a population of 2.6 million people.  Visit www.yorkshirecancercentre.org.uk for further details.