Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On October 11th I'll be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in aid of Médecins du Monde, an international humanitarian aid network of volunteer health professionals. They have varied projects in 60 countries around the world. There are long-term projects developing healthcare by training local medics. HIV/AIDS support and prevention programmes aim to educate and raise awareness, as well as to increase access to antiretroviral treatments – in Zimbabwe less than a third of people needing these treatments can get them. There are also emergency response and rehabilitation projects to help those affected by confict and natural disasters, for example in Burma and the Ivory Coast.

I am not a natural runner. Until embarking on this little challenge the furthest I had ever run was the three-and-a-half miles in the JPMorgan Chase Challenge, and that in a modest 27 minutes and only because of the promise of the sausage barbecue at the end! A couple of months ago when my house was burgled I lost my bike and, with it, my only regular form of exercise. To avoid getting restless and fat it seemed a fine idea to try to take something positive from this and raise money for a worthy cause. I'm pleased to be raising money to help MdM continue their great work around the world, and as part of the bargain I get to spite the spotty little 17-year-old who got away with it.

Please dig deep and help me support Médecins du Monde.

Joe