In life you set yourself goals and things you want to achieve. Mine include a healthy and happy family, success in my career, climbing Mount Everest and flying to the moon – not sure about the last two but the others are all achievable. Right up there has always been running the London Marathon and finally, in 2004, I will have the chance to achieve that goal.

For years I have sat in front of my television on a Sunday morning in April and watched the thousands of brave souls pounding the streets of London. I have marvelled at the fitness and speed of the elite runners, blitzing the 26 mile marathon course in around two hours, and at the 30,000 ‘fun-runners’ who complete it in three, four, five or even more. Their achievements are just as impressive as those of the full time runners and I have often thought how fantastic it would be to one day join them. After many years of thinking it, in 2003 I decided to do it.

I had never run anything more than 10 miles before - cross country races at school summed up my running exploits – but I was confident that I could complete the course. There was also the thought of raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, the charity who help people who, like me, are affected by the UK’s most common genetic condition.

So in August I got an entry form for the event, filled in my details and put it in the post. Then I waited, and waited, and waited a bit longer as the result of the general ballot was decided. In mid-December I received the news I had not been looking for – my application to gain entry to the marathon had been turned down.

I immediately went to Plan B and contacted the CF Trust, who are allocated several Golden Bond places. On December 23 I received the perfect Christmas present, hearing that I had a place – it now means that I have to raise £2,000 in return for my place in the event.

My fundraising and training are going well but I do need all the help I can get as I want to raise around £10,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. More details about the charity and how you can sponsor me are featured later on in this site.