"Am I mad?" I ask myself.  Will I really be able to run a Marathon - and at my age?  having just turned 40 and perhaps as part of a midlife crisis, when asked by my good friend Kathryn if I fancied doing the marathon in New York, I obviously had visions of shopping at Saks 5th Avenue, sipping cocktails whilst looking glamorous a la Sex in the City!  No, she really meant it - the actual running 26 miles Marathon!  My first reaction was that there was no way I would be able to do it.  She replied by saying that even people suffering from cancer manage to do it.  She had a point...  This brings me to the charity we are running for.  Twenty years ago this year, my beloved Dad died from bowel cancer at the tender age of 49.  It was a terrible shock, and something I have struggled to come to terms with since, despite the length of time it has been.  The old cliche - you never think its going to happen to you springs to mind.

Recently on the back of this family history, I had my own little scare, and thankfully have been given a clean bill of health. Why then with a healthy body should I not give this race a go, and along the way raise money for Bowel Cancer UK, which aims to same lives by raising awareness of htis disease along with practical help and support.  Every penny you donate will go towards helping to save lives from this cancer - the second biggest cancer killer, and one which can be cured for some people if caught in time.

As part of our fundraising, The Ribbon Company owned by Kathryn and myself, are donating 50p form each order we receive, up until the end of 2010.

We are running with our other halves, Mark and Tony as Team Coulston.  Both Kathryn and Mark already have a marathon each under their belts and have raised a lot of money for other deserving charities.  They have seriously taken us in hand and there is no escaping the rigorous training plan, which we are currently only 6 weeks into.

No matter what, we will all do our best to survive this challenge, and hope to be sipping cocktails on the evening of November 7th, having completed the race, and in the process raised alot of money for Bowel Cancer UK, a very worthwhile charity. 

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.