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As some of you may be aware, I have been given the most incredible opportunity to run the New York Marathon in about 11 days (!!!!). This has arisen after I have spent time working with a fantastic charity called Fairbridge, which I will be fundraising for by running the marathon.

In short, Fairbridge get young people in inner cities that are out any kind of work, training or education and are really struggling in society, and helps them to find direction and give them the opportunities which they would in truth otherwise not get. Fairbridge makes a point of excluding no-one and looking to support whoever they can in whatever way they can. I've been fortunate enough to have met some of the people Fairbridge has helped and have been genuinely stunned at the turnaround in their fortunes, and the focus they have found for themselves since Fairbridge has worked with them. It does not force direction or change on anyone, instead using an individual approach to help them gain the skills required for them to find their own way to succeed in life. The charity inevitably looks at the numbers associated with the work it does, such as the amount of people it sees or the success rate it has, but the aspect that has really struck me having seen the work they do on a personal level is how they are taking lives which are in many cases spiralling out of control, sometimes due to substance misuse, sometimes due to crime and sometimes even due to medical problems, and turn them around on an individual basis. Every person that they can help and provide a better chance for in life makes the charity so worthwhile and such a worthy cause.

As a result, I have found myself driven to drag my body through a series of challenges in order to raise money to help them continue the work they do, and help them to reach more young people who are struggling.

You may know that I do enjoy the odd challenge and competition is something I find hard to resist, so I'm not going to pretend that doing the marathon is entirely against my will. It is, however, a real challenge and has taken a lot of training, a lot of very early mornings and a lot of food to get me to. 26.2 miles is a long way to run and I will make it hurt. I have also given myself savage shin splints from training, but have figured I have come too far to drop out now, and have found myself really genuinely wanting to raise as much money for Fairbridge as possible, so I think a spot of shin pain here and there is a small price to pay! On top of this, I have genuinely been teetotal for almost two months (bar one honourable exception). Also, a couple of weeks ago I competed in an event called 'Stairway to Hell', which was basically a race up the stairs of the HSBC tower in Canary Wharf, from the basement to the top (which I would like to point out is bloody high!) to raise money for Fairbridge (an event which I outright won!). Instead of bombard you twice, I decided to fundraise for both events this once.

I am aiming to raise £2000 for Fairbridge, which is a lot of money. HOWEVER, HSBC, my employers, have pledged to double anything that I raise, and I will claim Giftaid, therefore reclaiming the income tax you paid working hard for that money you lovely people are dying to sponsor me. So as if giving money to such a fantastic charity wasn't enough, you also have a chance to get one over on a bank and the taxman!

Anything you can spare is really appreciated!