“I am very excited about the day itself. I have plenty of friends in London who have promised to come out and cheer.”

Sarah Macdonald, one of our London Marathon runners for 2014, on why she has joined Team TSA. To follow all the TSA marathon runners on Sunday 13 April visit our Twitter feed @UKTSA

In 2012 my friends’ son Patrick was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.
  
Patrick’s parents Helen and Stewart have been two of my best friends since we worked in Kenya together for several years from the age of 19. They have always inspired me as individuals, but the way they have dealt with the impact of TSC on their lives and worked together as a family to build a beautiful life for Patrick is brilliant.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to run the  London Marathon to raise money for the TSA to support families like theirs. 
Stewart is running for TSA as well and my sister will be running for Christian Aid, I am not sure if we will run together but it is great to be sharing the experience and training advice friendly competition.

I have been running for a couple of years but my training started in earnest just before Christmas.

I am using an app on my phone and am scaring myself with how competitive it makes me. It has taken up quite a lot of time but I am a freelancer so fitting in runs around work has been easier, in fact often it is fitting in work around runs. I run mostly around Peckham in South East London where I live but have also enjoyed the canals in East London. The photo attached is shot in Hackney. You can see the Anish Kapoor sculpture in the Olympic park in the background. I have really enjoyed discovering new parts of London. I have been running about 30 miles a week and its a great opportunity to see the city in a different way. I have lived in Peckham for 17 years and am really excited to be running the London Marathon. The route is very familiar to me as I cycle a lot for work all over town. Mostly I have been running on my own but friends have joined me for parts of the long runs which has been invaluable.

My fundraising has been centred around my Just Giving page. I am up to £1000 and will push those who have forgotten this weekend after my 20 mile run.

I am very excited about the day itself. I have plenty of friends in London who have promised to come out and cheer. I am looking forward to celebrating with the lovely TSA team after the event and then my friends are throwing a wee party at my studio in Bermondsey where we can raise a glass with friends and family.

You can sponsor Sarah via her JustGiving page and leave a message of support on our Facebook page.