My name is Gina and I’m 50 this year! I’ve never done Manchester marathon and thought why not and wanted to raise funds for Carers Support South Lakes, a charity based in my adopted hometown of Kendal!

Carer Support South Lakes is an independent, local charity and network partner of Carers Trust. Providing a range of services to support and enhance the lives of unpaid carers of all ages throughout South Lakeland, Carer Support South Lakes identifies the needs of unpaid Carers of any age and provides quality services, support and advocacy to promote their health and wellbeing. Their ultimate goal is to improve the lives of carers of all ages.

• £5 Could pay for food and activities for 1 young carer at the Support Group
• £15 would pay for a young carer to access activities and have fun away from their caring responsibilities
• £25 could buy an hour with a councillor
• £30 would pay for a gardening session for dementia carer and their loved one
• £50 would enable Parent Carers to enjoy a trip to the cinema with the family for quality time
• £100 would enable a group of Young Carers to take part in an outdoor activity

Born in Oxford, moved to the Lake District in 1990 and wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else. I am an honorary Cumbrian now!

I first started running in early 1997, primarily to keep fit as I had fallen out of love with cycling and needed to do something as I love food! In 1998 I ran my first event The Great North Run, as a fundraising activity for Leukaemia research and Anthony Nolan after my brother was diagnosed with the disease. He had a bone marrow transplant and made a full recovery and I caught the bug for running.

This carried on for a few years and in 2003 when I was 30 I ran my first London Marathon. Naivety is the best training tool. In 2013, another milestone birthday and another London marathon. Since then I have completed another 5 marathons including the tough Windermere marathon in 2014.

My marathon running achievements to date are:

• 2003 ​London
• 2013 ​London
• 2014 Windermere
• 2015 London
• 2017 London and Chester
• 2020 Virtual London
• 2021 London marathon

Please donate through JustGiving https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gina-pennington7 is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.