The University of Manchester (my employer for the last 18 years or so) decided to reserve 1,000 places in the Great Manchester 10K for its students and staff. In a moment of weakness I thought I should enter. Running started in January with around 1 mile and I'm now happily running the full 10K distance in less than an hour. I've also lost nearly 2 stone (that's over 12kg to you metric people).

While on a personal level I've really seen my health and fitness improve, I wanted to find a way to support others who are not as fortunate in health terms. Cancer has impacted my family significantly in recent years and as such I wanted to take the opportunity to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Anything you feel you can give would be gratefully received. From 1p to £1m (OK - that may be a little optimistic)!