When you're in your fifties and you're talking with a friend who you went to school with and he's just run his third marathon, what do you do? Obvious isn't it - you say you're going to run a marathon too. Well at the time I thought it was obvious.

Anyway, fast forward 10 months and the time for talking about it is over. The training is nearly finished and the race in Barcelona is just a week away.

I'm ready for 26 miles of pain and suffering that I signed up for but I will feel much better if I know I'm doing it in aid of a deserving cause.

The cause I'm hoping to raise money for is Holbrook Animal Rescue a charity I became a volunteer for a few months ago. Owning a dog myself I know how much work and money is needed to look after them, even more so with dogs that are strays or have been abandoned.

So thank you for reading this and please donate whatever you can