<p>Hi folks,</p> <p>As most of you will know I went on a bit of a health kick in November 2011 and started running, in February this year I decided I would run the Loch Ness Marathon which takes part on 30th September, this will be the first time I have ever run a marathon and the furthest I had ever run before a few weeks ago was 10km.</p> <p>I thought as I was putting all this effort into training and going to undertake such a mean feat as running my first marathon I might as well try and raise some money for charity.</p> <p>Over the last 4 years I have taken part in Movember and have raised some serious cash for a great cause, and so when looking at all the different charities and seeing how much good work they all do I was struggling to make a decision who to run for, then I came across STAR for Harris.</p> <p>I instantly knew this would be the charity I would most like to run for. After reading Allan, Tanya and Harris' story and having my heart absolutely wrenched by everything I read it just made more and more sense for me to try and raise money for them.</p> <p>The work they are doing for children and families suffering from cancer is highly commendable.</p> <p><a href="http://www.starforharris.co.uk/harris-journey/">http://www.starforharris.co.uk/harris-journey/</a></p> <p>I hope you realise how much of a difference you can make by simply donating a few pounds, or why not go crazy and sponsor me &pound;1 for every mile I run.....that's &pound;26 for those who don't know how long a marathon is! Yes 26 miles! :)</p> <p>I have set a target of raising &pound;1000 but I hope to exceed this, it's 6 months to go, please tell all your friends and family, every penny counts.</p> <p>My good friend Steven joined the cause too and began training at the start of February, his motive was very similar to mine, lose some weight. When I told him about the Loch Ness Marathon and STAR For Harris he jumped at the chance to join me and do something good.</p> <p>We have always had a bit of a competitive streak in us, with us trying to better each others Movember fundraising....and moustache's!</p> <p>I think teaming up for the same cause will be great for both of us, and at least I will have someone to carry me the last few miles of Loch Ness!!</p> <p>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p> <p>So please dig deep and donate now.</p> <p>Thank you very much.</p> <p>Olly &amp; Steven</p>