Hi i'm Adele & on 30th October i will be taking part in the M2N Marathon. My running journey started 5 years ago with the loss of my mam who passed suddenly from a stroke & 3 days prior we had just recieved the devastating news that my dad had cancer. My dad needed me more than anything right now & i had to be there to help & support him being the only family he & i had close by. After a few months trying to cope with & digest everything that life had thrown at us i began to weaken & went to the docs for some help & support. I was offered counselling with a 3-6 month waiting list & AD's which would take 6-8 weeks to have any effect. I didn't feel like i had this amount of time as my dad needed me & i needed a quick fix to change my mood & feelings. So after sitting down to watch the GNR that year i decided to ditch the prescription, cancel the counselling & went to buy some trainers. I was so inspired by the stories of how running had helped people both mentally & physically so i set myself a goal to do the GNR the following year for The Stroke Assoc. I found that my mood & feeling quickly lifted soon after i started to run & i loved that good feeling it gave me. I started to enter other events too as part of my training & did my first ever GN10k in 2012 on my mams anniversary & was blown away with the support of the runners. It was then time for GNR which for me was the biggy & i knew it was going to be an emotinal day for me & my dad who was my biggest fan & supporter. There he was when i crossed the finish line to give me a hug & tell me how very proud he was of everything i had achieved that year. I also felt proud of my achievements & was amazed at peoples generosity so i kept running & decided the following year to run for Cancer Research. The next couple of years proved to be a struggle as my dad began to deteriorate & me & my husband grew apart but i kept running until March last year when my dad passed away & at that time i completely lost my mojo & my love of running. I already had a ballot place for GNR but wasnt sure how i was going to make that start line feeling the way i did & with no support at home. Then one day in June i found TGCR on FB & nervously turned up to one of their runs where i was given the warmest of welcomes & over time i found my love for running again with the help & support of this fabulous group of ladies. That year i was back on the starting line & even though my dad wasnt there for me i had found my new family within TGCR & i didnt feel alone. I stayed with TGCR after GNR as friendships blossomed & i began to gain strength & confidence within myself again & decided my next goal would be a Marathon before i was 50. Then in January of this year my world crumbled once again as i fled my home due to domestic violence. I managed to pack a bag take my dog & closed the door behind me & found myself in a very difficult situation as i had no where to go. Well infact i did as i owned a flat but in there was a tenant who after months of unpaid rent was still refusing to move & i had to wait for the courts to evict him. I found myself 300 miles away from home after an aunt offered to help me & through the docs i was put in touch with DV Support & placed on a high risk register & advised not to return to Newcastle until i had found somewhere to stay. I was offered a womens hostel but as i was self employed  this would cost me £375 week & as my husband had stopped the bank accounts i had very little money & i would have had to rehome my dog at another cost too. A friend then offered me her couch & another friends mam offered to look after my dog so i travelled back to Newcastle in search of some help. I was put in touch with various different organisations & services but none of them were able to help me as i wasnt in receipit of any benefits & wasnt prepared to dissolve my business as i was being advised to do. I couldnt work my business either as my husband had changed the locks on the marital home so i couldnt gain access & as i had left the Police couldnt help me. A month later which was the longest month of my life i was given the keys to my flat after the tenant moved out & i moved into an unfurnished house with my suitcase & my dog. I began to rebuild my life & my new home & again i struggled to run as i had little energy & i felt so let down by a system that should have protected & supported me. There were days where i went to sleep hoping that i wouldnt wake up as i just coudnt cope. After a couple of months & tremendous support from TGCR i went back to running & qualified as a Run Group Leader for TGCR & now lead the group in Whitley Bay. After missing the ballot for GNR i was offered a charity place through a friend with YMCA & once again made the start line with their support. After visiting the YMCA i am going to be running my Marathon for this fantastic charity after seeing some of the work they do & had my doctor been aware of the services they provide i may not have had such a struggle. They offer support, emergency accomodation to the homeless & young people who find themselves without somewhere to go or stay amongst many other community services. Please support me to raise awareness of their work & help me to get over that finish line. You never know when your life is going to change & you have that rug pulled from underneath your feet by people you love.

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