As part of my training regime for the London Marathon on Sunday 28 April, I joined women from This Mum Runs for a lovely run across the Downs and Suspension Bridge. And after several busy weeks in Parliament, it was refreshing to be able to run with women in Bristol and see some of the amazing sights that the city has to offer – all in the name of preparation!

I was delighted to meet and run with Mel, who founded This Mum Runs a few years ago to create a supportive group of women to run together, at any level of ability, for health and social benefits.

Since the first meet up of 70 women, the project now has 50,000 women across cities and towns across the country. New members are welcomed by trained volunteer ‘Run Angels’ to help everyone to get running and enjoy it. They have runs of different time lengths rather than an emphasis on speed or distance, but many women go on to race or achieve personal goals with their support. They offer free social runs such as the one I was on, plus the Angel coaching and other courses. It’s a fantastic project for bringing women together and supporting each other to get fitter. I am very thankful for the group for letting me join them nice and early on Sunday morning and I can recommend This Mum Runs for all women!

There are only 20 days to go until the London Marathon which will be my first attempt at running this distance! I’m really pleased with how the training is going, and I’m being spurred on by the knowledge that I’ve been able to double my fundraising target thanks to your generous support.

I’m running the marathon in aid of Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) youth groups programme. They provide an invaluable supportive environment for young people who are affected by their parents’ drug or alcohol problems. I’m proud to be fundraising for this amazing project – you can donate here.