Hi friends,

I have never done something like this before so here goes...

I'm running in the Blackmores half marathon in September with an aim to finish the race in 2 hours. I am doing this run to raise money for the Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation in Australia.

Why am I doing this? Well initially it started off with me and my friend Jill talking about doing another exercise event after we had a lot of fun doing the Nike NTC tour in March.

But now I have decided to do this race and aim to raise money for pancreatic cancer after a very special person in mine & my family's life sadly got diagnosed with this illness. 

There is little research and money going into pancreatic cancer. But it has one of the lowest survival rates because it is often diagnosed at a very advanced stage. Little is known about it in the community but it is the ninth most common cancer in men and tenth most common cancer in women in Australia.

Despite huge advances in treating, managing and preventing other cancers over recent decades, there has been no change to survival rates for pancreatic cancer.

The Avner Foundation is the only foundation in Australia specifically dedicated to pancreatic cancer. Its aim is to break through forty years of no progress by doubling the number of people who survive pancreatic cancer by 2020. 

I know that you all get so many emails about supporting charities. Sometimes I feel that these charities all have a similar focus whereas diseases like pancreatic cancer can sometimes be put into the "too hard" basket. Something needs to be done to improve the statistics for this horrible illness. And money is the key factor that will allow that happen. 

I would be so happy and grateful if you could support me in this cause. 

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Diana