The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea!

Since I decided to do the London Marathon, there was only one charity that I was ever going to support – RNLI. I have been supporting them for over 10 years, and my Grandmother (who is now 100), has supported them for most of her life.

I think if you live near the sea, you cannot help but be amazed by the incredible work that these volunteers do. They receive no government funding and rely solely on charitable donations.

They provide, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service and a seasonal lifeguard service. Their Values reflect the way we do business as an organisation.

Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboats, and since 2001, its lifeguards, have saved more than 140,000 lives.

More and more people are using beaches and the sea for leisure and RNLI crews and lifeguards are responding to an increased number of incidents.

In 2012, 49% of launches were to leisure craft users, 20% to people ashore, 13% to people in the water, 10% to merchant or fishing vessels and 8% to other sea users.

The pain of running such a long distance is nothing in comparison to what these men and women go through to save lives.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have thus far supported my fundraising effort!