Thanks for getting this far, all I need to do now is convince you to part with some of your hard-earned cash for the best of causes.

I am running the London Marathon in 2010, (see my runners blog) and I am aiming to raise £3,000. I'm not sure which is the greater challenge but I am up for both of them equally.

I am running to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and there are two simple reasons why:

1. Heart disease is the number one killer in Britain.

2. In September 2007 I had an operation at Southampton General Hospital to replace a valve in my heart which means I can now live a long and much happier life than I could without it.

I was born with a hole in my heart which was operated on when I was a baby, but I also had an abnormal aortic valve, which was working well enough but not 100 per cent. After 30 or so years of monitoring by a first class team at Southampton General Hospital, they decided to operate in 2007. The operation became a little more urgent when they discovered something else was not working properly in the old ticker and basically fitted a whole new part which means my heart now clicks when it beats because of the metal valve which is keeping me alive. But it also works so much better than before, to the extent that my whole body is in better condition and it has changed, or possibly saved, my life.

So I am running for the British Heart Foundation to raise money for their work and research into heart disease, which takes place all over the country.

It is my first full marathon, although I have run six or seven half marathons down the years.

All I need to do is convince 300 people to donate a tenner and I will hit my target.

The money raised for BHF will go towards funding work at Southampton General Hospital where I had both my life-saving operations, and the newly-opened Bristol Heart Institute which does such excellent work in the city which is now my home.

If you donate through JustGiving you can be sure the money will get to where it says it will and won't be pilfered by me on booze or a holiday abroad!

And if you help me hit this target I promise never to bother you again for fundraising. Unless I run another marathon!

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 dig deep and donate now.