To be brutally honest, I have hated every minute of training and despite being a reasonably athletic 20 year old, every time I run I feel like an 80 year old woman with arthritis!
I ran the Great North Run last year and after crossing the finish line and ending up being injured for a month after with patella tendonitis I said that I categorically was never ever doing it again... But, here I am again preparing to stand on the start line a bag of nerves again!
There is something pretty magical about the Great North Run that has drawn me and so many other people back for another year of 13.1 miles from city to sea!
I'm not a competitive runner and I am not looking for a good time and will certainly be nowhere near Mo Farah, but I am one of thousands of 'charity' runners who were taken in by the running bug and the ambition to make a difference and raise money for our chosen charities, and there is something super special about that and despite being overtaken by a man dressed in a duck outfit last year I felt an immense sense of pride as I crossed the finish line, along with thousands of 'ordinary' people doing 'extraordinary' things.
The reason I am running this year, is a young man named Isaac Siame, a peer leader at Fountain of Hope, a centre for street kids, AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in Lusaka, Zambia.
Isaac didn't have a great start to life and spent many years living on the street, affected by physical and drug abuse. As a young teen he found Fountain of Hope and it changed his life for the better, giving him hope, shelter, food and a sense of family.
He has never left and he now looks after the boys that live there and he coaches football and PE there on a voluntary basis everyday, teaching around HIV/AIDS and other issues through sport and acting as a role model to those children. He is a true inspiration and the most genuine and kind hearted man I have ever come across in my life.
One thing Isaac missed out on as a child was an education, something that many of us have taken for granted growing up. So my goal is to raise enough money to send Isaac to school and complete his education, which will cost around £600.
I am within touching distance of my target and would like to reach it before Sunday! Any donations will make a huge difference!
www.justgiving.com/Hannah-Marshall10
I would like to thank everyone that has sponsored me so far and I can assure you that this money will make a huge difference and mean the world to a very special young man.
Zikomo Kwambiri, thank you very much!
