When you’re standing at the starting line of a marathon, 26 miles seems a very long way to go – but by running for the British Heart Foundation, each mile is another small step to raising money for research that will prolong lives.

I started running marathons at the age of 45, following a bet one drunken evening. Now I’m hooked!

My father died suddenly at the age of 51, completely unexpectedly. So after completing a half-marathon in Reading, then the Great North Run in 2006, I wanted to run in his memory to raise money to help others suffering from heart disease – after all, we might be OK now but who knows whether it will affect us in the future?

The 2007 Flora London Marathon, on 23 April, was the obvious challenge. It was hot and hard and the blisters that developed on the tops of my toes and under my toenails, after only ten miles, made it tough going – though not as hard as for Santa, who decided to walk, the Wombles, who overheated in their costumes, and the Save the Hippo runners, who certainly had something to grunt about.

But although at the finish line you might think “Never again”, it only lasts a few minutes before you’re putting your name down again.

Now I’m taking part in a series of half-marathons and marathons, with the aim of raising £10,000 for the British Heart Foundation.

If you would like to support me, please make a donation. Your support will not only be appreciated by me, but by the thousands of people who will benefit from advanced heart research.

And if you are one of my clients, through a critical illness protection policy obtained through one of my companies, I will double your pledge.

David Joyce

The Airline Mortgage Company
www.airlinemortgage.com