I joined Kiln almost 10 years ago as a PA to the IT Director and have progressed through the company in a number of roles, and currently and happily hold the position of Divisional Manager for the Property and Special Lines team.

 I am looking forward to heading to Sierra Leone for three reasons; to challenge myself to run in the marathon and raise money for Street Child; to visit some of the projects that Street Child have set up and are supporting; and to visit the country and see for myself what a beautiful part of Africa it is.

I'll be preparing for the run in a number of ways. The first is to hit the streets! I'm not a keen fan of the treadmill - I much prefer running outside and running to somewhere, rather than running in one place. I often use running to explore areas, I moved house 6 months ago, and there are many roads and routes that I've not checked out yet, so running gives me a chance to do this. I'm able to run at lunchtimes too, so I'm planning on heading along the Thames sometimes and do a bit of sightseeing on the way!

My second preparation is to mentally prepare myself. I'm a believer that a positive attitude means you can achieve whatever you want to achieve. I know that when I have a long run ahead of me, if I haven't told myself that I'm doing it and make myself believe I can do it, I'll end up struggling and not enjoying it. I'd much rather enjoy a run, so focusing on being positive is a huge must.

In addition to those main two things, the others are to get some decent playlists made up! When I'm out running on my own the right music with the right beat makes such a difference! I'll just have to be careful to make sure that I don't sing along….! I'm also planning to join up with the other people within Kiln who are running in Sierra Leone, and get a few regular times booked in to go out running together. This will be a great way to provide support and motivation for each other.