(Please note that all money raised will go directly to the charity - I am covering all of my own costs)

WORLD RECORD BREAKING CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!! PHOTOS WILL BE FORTHCOMING... Please keep donating to help me reach my target!

In light of the enormity of completing this challenge I will be actively seeking media attention and corporate sponsorship. To the best of my knowledge nobody else has been stupid enough to attempt what I have completed. I will attempt to confirm this with Peruvian authorities and any other authority of record-breaking attempts. If you bumped into me during the trek please email me any photos you have at TheLozProject@gmail.com. Please use the same email address for any press enquiries.

Sadly, due to problems with JustGiving and a restriction on the number of photos visit my personal Facebook page where I will be putting up an album of photos from the trek on 15th August - https://www.facebook.com/Loz.Oliphant.

Anyways, enough of the admin on to the story... In a moment of lunacy I agreed to do a trek to Machu Picchu in Peru. It turns out that quite a lot of walking is involved in things which have the word 'TREK' in them (apart from Star Trek which is mainly flying, fighting and teleporting).

Despite being a bit of a daft melon, what is startlingly clear is that I have chosen a fantastic charity to support which you almost certainly won't have heard of, Dig Deep. That's not because I made it up, nor because it is a code name for my offshore retirement fund (contact me if you wish to contribute to that), but rather it is because it is a small charity that does fantastic work in partnership with disadvantaged communities in East Africa to help improve their access to water, sanitation and renewable energy in order to empower local people to overcome the challenges they face. You can find out more about the stonkingly good work they do here - http://digdeep.org.uk/ - and you can check out their facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/digdeepafrica.

At the time of writing I am the most overweight I have ever been in my life. So it is a particularly substantial challenge that faces me this day. I believe that my commitment to this trek alone warrants generous wodges of your hard earned cash in sponsorship...

However, I thought I would add another element to the challenge of the trek... The Loz Project.

Those of you who know me may be aware of my profound sense of fashion, neatly trimmed facial hair and carefully maintained hairstyle... Or complete lack of all those things. Not that I lack hair. Anyway you know what I mean. The mere thought of a suit and tie is offensive to my mind. The thought of trimming my facial hair is deplorable and as for a haircut, totally unnecessary and a waste of money (which is why I normally simply wet shave my head when I do cut my hair).

Therefore I've come up with a cunning plan... The Loz Project.

If you help me to raise a total of:
***TARGET REACHED*** £200 - I will wear a suit for a week (possibly for the first time in over five years).
***TARGET REACHED*** £300 - I will trim my beard and moustache for the first time in about a year and a half (but not shave it off entirely).
***TARGET REACHED*** £400 - I will start regularly washing my hair with shampoo and conditioner and even regularly use a hairbrush (up until the 1st of August when the adventure of the trek begins).
***TARGET REACHED*** £500 - I will add a week of suit wearing. I will also go CLEAN SHAVEN!!!
***TARGET REACHED*** £600 - I will visit a professional barber for the first time in about a decade to have my hair cut instead of just using my Gilette razor to wet shave my scalp. I won't go to just any old barber I'll use my own money to pay for a haircut in Mayfair (http://trumpers.com/services.cfm).
***TARGET REACHED*** £700 - I will add a week of suit wearing and I will further improve my appearance by holding a black umbrella whenever I go outside.
***TARGET REACHED*** £800 - I will enhance my appearance further by carrying a briefcase with me everywhere outdoors.
***TARGET REACHED*** £900 - I will complete the look by wearing a bowler hat everywhere.
***TARGET REACHED*** £1000 - I will use my own money to buy some new black shoes to wear with the suit.
***TARGET REACHED*** £1500 - I will wear a suit on the trek*.
***TARGET REACHED*** £2000 - I will bring a briefcase, umbrella and bowler hat on the trek*.
***TARGET REACHED*** £2,300 - At the beginning of each day on the trek, as the walking begins I will lead the charge with a cry of 'Tally-Ho, onwards and upwards' (even if we are going downhill) and in the evening I will propose a toast to a different member of the trekking party followed by a short speech. I will also comment on the weather repeatedly over the course of the day and start as many sentences as possible with, 'I say, ...'. I may also question whether others are appropriately addressed for the trek.
***Challenge accepted*** (This simply means that I accepted this challenge in anticipation of your generosity) £2,400 - I will attempt to lead everyone in singing a different traditional English song each day of the trek, culminating in the British and Peruvian National Anthems upon reaching Machu Picchu. Suggestions welcome, at the moment I can think of Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Brittania, Jerusalem, I vow to thee my country and It's a long way to Tipperary...
***Challenge accepted*** £2,500 - I will acquire a pipe, slippers and smoking jacket/dressing gown which I will don in the evenings on the trek.
£2,600 - I will wear the suit, shoes, bowler hat, umbrella and briefcase for another seven days on my return. Plus the evening wear.
£2,700 - ***Suggestions welcome...
£2,800 - For seven days, I will insist that everyone refer to me by a more conventional sounding English name than my actual name. Votes will be cast by facebook and evaluated on the basis of their Englishness.
£2,900 - ***Suggestions welcome...
£3,000 - ***Suggestions welcome...

***Breaking News*** - As an extra incentive for individual donations. I will offer to serenade anyone with a love ballad over the phone who donates £30 or more. Please note the serenade is optional (don't let it be a disincentive to donating!)

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

(I may have slightly modified the suggested wording of this next paragraph for my own amusement.) Donating through JustGiving is complex, slow and totally unsecure. Your details are vulnerable with JustGiving – they’ll always sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money indirectly to the charity. So it’s the least efficient way to donate – increasing time and costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

N.B. All forfeits will take place in the run up to the trek in August or in the month of August. Any bowler hat wearing, umbrella carrying and briefcasing that takes place after August is purely coincidental. The same goes for the other forfeits.

*Additionally before agreeing to wear a suit, bowler hat and briefcase on the Trek I need to obtain permission/advice from the team leaders and travel company organising the trip (e.g. I don't want to wear a suit on the trek if it will result in my untimely demise by melting).