Aunty Alison

I wasn't planning on writing this today. I was going to tell you about my training, and confess that I'd had a lazy week. But sadly, we got the news this morning that my lovely aunt passed away last night. So I thought I'd tell you a little about her.
Alison had been fighting bowel cancer for a couple of years, and when I say fight, I mean fight. Not only did she fight for her own health, but she also fought to get better, more compassionate treatment for other sufferers, speaking at the house of commons on behalf of Beating Bowel Cancer  as recently as January . She remained cheerful and positive despite the disease and was always ready to offer support to anyone who needed it, becoming a regular on the Beating Bowel Cancer patient forum. She has touched the lives of many, many people.
I am reminded of when my Nan (Alison's mother-in-law) died; Alison told me about a conversation they had had when she was expecting her daughter. She had asked my Nan, How would she love another baby, when she loved her son so very much? How could she share the love between two children? Of course my Nan told her that the love wouldn't need to be shared, but that the amount of love would grow so there would be plenty to go around. Naturally, there was plenty of room in Alison's heart for Hazel, then in time her heart grew to include her daughter-in-law, then her grandson (and oh how she loved being a grandparent!). Over the last few days the huge capacity of Alison's heart has become clear: tributes have flooded in from people who were touched by her love, from children she has taught to colleagues and fellow cancer sufferers. So, to my big-hearted aunty Alison: I'm running the Great North Run for you. And to everyone else: please give generously!

About Beating Bowel Cancer

Beating Bowel Cancer is a charity close to my heart as my Aunt is a bowel cancer sufferer who has found their support invaluable since her treatment began. They are always there at the end of the phone to talk and their easy to read booklets cut out the jargon doctors use. They have helped her to work with the medical team providing her care, allowing her to take charge of her own treatment. In return, my Aunt volunteers to speak on behalf of sufferers, even speaking at the House of Commons! She is an inspiration to me and I have been moved to help raise money to continue this important support for others who are facing the diagnosis and treatment of bowel cancer. I'd like to say a huge "thank you" to everyone that has helped my fundraising to get off to a stunning start - £105 raised already! It would be great if I could smash my target... if you'd like to make a donation please visit my Just Giving page here. Miles run in training: 12 Pounds raised: 105

Starting out...

It's official! I will be running the Great North Run for Beating Bowel Cancer in September! My fundraising pack has arrived through the post so this is where the hard work starts. Believe it or not, I'm really looking forward to the training even though I've only been running for a year and I've never run further than 10k. The part which is making me nervous is the fundraising - this will be as much of a challenge for me as running the half marathon! I've set up a Just Giving site (please feel free to visit and donate!) - it's not very pretty yet but I hope to put some more work into it over the days and weeks ahead. I hope that by blogging my "journey" (eugh) as both a runner and a fundraiser will give me an excuse to repost the link to my fundraising page many times over the 6-ish months between now and the run. If I post if often enough, you'll all donate.... won't you???