At 7:00 pm on Friday 20 July I will be setting off from the Moot Hall in Keswick to run to the summit of forty-two Lake District mountains in under twenty-four hours over a distance of 66 miles and a total ascent (and let’s not forget the decent) of 27,000 feet.    

You may think of the scale of the task in physical terms - for me it’s entirely a mental thing.  My preparation has obsessively focused on resisting the urge to stop, quit, throw the towel in, cash in my chips and give it all up as a bad joke, which is why Samaritans seemed like such a natural fit as a choice of beneficiary.   

Forgive me for testing your generosity, but I would be tremendously grateful if you could please support their good work by donating a sum comparable to the scale of my undertaking.  

Wish me luck!