Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Anyone that knows me will agree that I am "built for comfort and not for speed" and will probably be of the opinion that running 21.1km in around 2hrs is well beyond my physical capabilities. My dad has certainly said so on many an occassion since he began running the 2 Oceans Half Marathon in Cape Town 3 years ago and has ran it in each of 2009, 2010 and 2011 in just over 2hrs.

So after the 3rd year about hearing repeatedly over the past 3 years:

  - "you could never do it"; or 

  - "its all about mind over matter and you just wouldnt be able to; or

  -  "but David, you have no idea how tough the 300m climb up Southern Cross Drive from the 10th to 14th kilometre is".

...I have finally decided to try and shut him up!

In the process of doing so I have decided that I will try to raise some money for a truly great charity in Cape Town, South Africa - The Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital. Leticia and myself previously raised money for them in 2009 by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and following that we visited the hospital while travelling through South Africa.  It was a truly inspirational place to visit and you could really see where the money was being put to use. Please dig deep and donate however much you can / want - all donations will be very gratefully received!!

The Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital, Cape Town

As the only dedicated paediatric specialist hospital in sub-Saharan Africa the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town fulfils a vital role for the children of Africa.  The Hospital offers the only dedicated paediatric trauma centre in South Africa as well as the only Poisons Information Centre and performs approximately 750 operations per month in 4 surgical theatres. Managing around 250 000 children each year, this children's hospital is the 'one-stop shop' for excellence in child health and treatment on the African continent, offering the best care in the most cost-effective way for sick children.

The Children's Hospital Trust

Ongoing support is needed to raise critical complementary funding to ensure that the Hospital remains the centre of paediatric excellence for which it is renowned, giving hope to sick children and their families. It is for this reason that the Children's Hospital Trust was founded in 1994. As the fundraising arm of the Hospital, the Trust is committed to supporting the specialist children's hospital by raising significant funding to address many pressing needs.

100% of all funds raisedby this children's charity go towards the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.

While in some charity fundraisers the participants are subsidised by the charity for the cost of the trip I am self funding the trip so that all the money raised goes directly to the charity.

Donating through JustGiving 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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please refrain from those urges to be cheap and donate as much as you can to this worthwhile cause and help make a difference to such a worthy charity.