Now you have stopped laughing at me in Lycra, you can start laughing again because, believe it or not, I am determined to run the 2008 Flora London Marathon. For those of you that know me as an overweight, 20+ a day smoker until relatively recently, you will appreciate that this is a tremendous challenge – but I have started training already. 

The picture is of me (plus my number one fans) after I finished my first half marathon (the Great East Run in September 2007).  You can only imagine what I am going to look like after a marathon!  I already suffered blisters from hell and I have shares in Vaseline – applying copious amounts to the “more sensitive parts”.

I thought that if I was going to put myself through hell I should do it for a good cause so have chosen to run for the brave lot at the RNLI. I committed to raise £2,100, which has now been achieved, so I would like to see if we could make £4,200 which provides enough funding to train not one but two crewmen, a wonderful reason to run. So please could you give as generously as you can for the RNLI, and for a chap that had never run until a year ago and is petrified about what I have let myself in for! 

Thanks so much in advance - Andy

For more details on the RNLI - http://www.rnli.co.uk/crewtraining