Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and thank you so much to everyone who has donated to one of the charities I am fundraising for - you don’t know how much your support means.

Several months ago, on the day affectionately known to runners as “No, I didn’t get a London Marathon place either Day”, I checked my emails, confident that I could breathe a sigh of relief for another year. (For some unknown reason, I enter the ballot every year, safe in the knowledge that I won’t get a place because they are like gold dust!)

Only, it didn’t quite work out like that as the email I received loudly proclaimed “Congratulations, Anna-Clare you’re in!”

Once I’d recovered from the shock, I accepted my place and here we are, just a few days away from the big day and I am incredibly nervous! I’ve been a part-time runner for around 7 years, and whilst I’ve completed some 10ks and half marathons, I’ve never attempted a marathon. Nor have I fundraised before, but this may well be my one and only marathon, so it seems like the right thing to do!

I’m fundraising for 2 charities:

Cancer Research UK – 1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime, and Cancer Research UK funds prevention, detection and treatment of more than 200 caners through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. My father survived lung cancer when I was in my early 20s, and lived for another 20 years, thanks to research and skilled medical staff. Unlike me, he was a natural distance runner and I have memories of standing on Tower Bridge as a child to watch him run the London Marathon (yet again!). I'll not be chasing his sub-3 hour time, but I will remember him as I cross Tower Bridge.

Step Together Volunteering – this is the charity I work for. My colleagues provide incredible support to people to participate in volunteering and build a more positive future for themselves. All of the people we support can be described as facing multiple disadvantage. This means they face ‘two or more issues affecting physical, mental, social or financial wellbeing’. This includes: poverty, growing up in care, experiencing abuse or childhood trauma, having a physical and/or mental health issue, being in contact with the criminal justice system, or affected by service in the armed forces. We don't place a time limit on how long we will support someone; we work flexibly to meet the individual needs of every person they help.

I'm hoping to be able to raise a similar amount for both charities, but whichever charity you choose, I’d be so grateful for any support.