My close friend Cass's brother, John McLaughlin, died suddenly and tragically of meningitis in December 2012. Following his death, his brother Mark decided to run 12 half marathons in 6 months in memory of Johnny and to raise funds for Meningitis UK. Cass and some of her friends, including myself, decided to support Mark by running with him in his first race in Sheffield. As you all know, Sheffield is my beloved city and I was delighted to be able to run the Sheffield Marathon for the third time. It was a difficult run for me as my knees gave out about half way round and I had to slow down for the lsat half of the race. However, friends and family lined the route to keep us going and us four women running made it together to the end. I am so grateful to all my friends who offered to sponsor me and help me contribute something to Johnnys fund.
