This week was a mentally and physically challenging one for me.

On Sunday I ran the Great North Run for the sixth time and, leading up to it, just wasn’t sure if I could do it.

Yes, I had run it in the past, but that was before I’d had the privilege of having two children and less sleep.

Anyway, it took focus to prepare for the race, sometimes having to get up at 5 to 5.30am to fit in training.

So last Thursday I was asked to film for the One Show and coincidentally the location was Newcastle and it was about, wait for it, the Great North Run.

So I had a test run so to speak, travelling to the “Toon” where I had to run round the city looking at landmarks, spurt out facts about the race and got to interview Sting and Jimmy Nail.

The disheartening moment came when we drove the route in the car and my heart sank. How was I going to run all that way? Was I crazy?

I was back at home late that evening and before I knew it, was back up to Newcastle before you could sing Fog on the Tyne.

You’ll be pleased to know I completed the run in one hour 52 minutes and I’m a happy bunny.

One, because I did it without stopping and dug deep when my mind was playing tricks saying it was a challenge too big; and two, I could start raising money for a brilliant cause.

This year I ran for Sparks, a charity raising funds for pioneering children’s medical research.

They basically want every child to be born healthy, something I’ve been lucky enough to experience with my children.

So if you could spare a couple of pounds, please sponsor me at justgiving.com/angellicabell/ I thank you! x

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