Hi I'm Dave,

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Kate's dad, and for those of you who know Kate, if ever there's an opportunity to save/help something, she'll try to take it. This is why I find myself running the 16th International Jungfrau Marathon on 6th September in aid of Care for the Wild International, and more specifically to support their campaign to try to bring the Maui of Hector's Dolphin, native to New Zealand, back from the brink of extinction.

Some of you may already know that China's Yangtze River dolphin was declared officially extinct at the end of 2007. Often when we hear things are near extinction we think, 'oh, someone will do something about it', but that someone is we. And we're not talking about a third world country here. New Zealand, apparently one of the world's supposedly most enviornmentally aware countries, has allowed this beautiful creature to virtually disappear through careless use of gill netting and trawler fishing.

In less than 40 years, the numbers of these dolphins have dropped by two thirds. One of the main reasons Kate pursuaded me to fight for these little creatures is because she herself has kayaked with them when visiting New Zealand and was personally touched by how friendly and trusting they are. So join me in my efforts (at least you won't have to be the one huffing and puffing up a high altitude track on what has been deemed the world's fourth hardest marathon course - it's much easier and less painless to just part with a bit of dosh!) to support Care for the Wild in protecting these beautiful mammals (their campaign mainly involves putting continued pressure on the NZ government to grant the dolphin's full protection status - can you believe they don't have it already?!) and please sponsor me online.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Care for the Wild International gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Thanks, Dave