It has been a dream of mine to get into the London Marathon ballot, and every year, I apply for both James and myself. This year, against all the odds, we BOTH got in. Crazy! I really believe in the timing of life, and if there was ever a year the universe knew I was going to need this, this was it.

Shortly after I got that 'Acceptance Form' that every ballot entry hopes for, sadness hit my family like relentless waves. We had three loved ones pass away in just six weeks. My beloved Grandpa died suddenly from a stroke and left the whole family heartbroken. Two weeks later my Aunty died of breast cancer. And four weeks later my Nana (Pa's mother) died of a broken heart. We're dealing with so much grief, and are going through so many big changes as a family, at times it's unbearably overwhelming.

Having the marathon to focus on, and the determination to give it my best shot, has been my reason for getting up on many days. The long training runs have been my therapy, getting me out in the fresh air, moving my body and clearing my head, when I would otherwise be hibernating through the winter. Getting into the ballot is the best thing that could have happened to me at this time in my life. It really was winning the lottery.

We'd like to use this stroke of luck to raise money for two different charities with causes especially close to our hearts:

James and I have always been touched by the wonderful work Macmillan do, caring for and supporting people living with cancer.

The Australian bush fires are devastating. My best childhood memories are the camping trips we'd go on every holidays - waking up among the trees, and wildlife, going on bush walks, swimming in the clear waters. It was a gift to grow up in such a beautiful, vast land, so close to nature. My favourite place on earth. And it's disappearing fast, we've already lost over 1 billion of our beautiful animals and we still have months of fire season to go. WIRES Australia is working hard to rescue, rehabilitate and preserve our precious wildlife.

Your donation to the charity that is closest to your heart (or both) means the world to us, and we're going to run our hardest for you.

The first 'Loren & James G' link below under 'Team Members' will take you to our WIRES page, and the second is for Macmillan. (A bit fiddly I know, but it was the only way it allowed me to raise money for two charities).

Thank you so much for your support.