Back in 2010 my name was very kindly ‘volunteered’ and entered for me to participate in the Great North Run. ME! Had it been called the Great North Walk or the Great North Stroll and if it could be completed over a weekend, then maybe it was for me

For years and years I had watched the Great North Run and London Marathon on TV – quite envious of the runners taking part, wishing I too could one day do the same! I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years and although it is well controlled I felt

in 2010 and then the Great North Run and then the Birmingham Half-Marathon and so it goes on. Through the year I called a barn dance! That was crazy. Packed shopping bags in Morrisons begged and cajoled. This year I have been injured - a trapped nerve

at work who was doing the Great North Run. It hit me like a brick: that's what I should do, run a half-marathon for charity and try to help others. I contacted a charity that was close to my heart and Paul's illness and they could not have been more

.I decided to enter the Great North Run in 2009 to raise funds for Alzheimer's as my Dad had it so it was very personal to me. By then he was no longer with us but I knew he would be with me then as he loved the big events, he was there when I did the London