Hopefully you will have survived the initital shock of hearing that Amber and I are regarded by the American running elite as worthy entrants for this year's New York City Marathon, an event tailored specifically to highly tuned athletes....clearly of all ages!!!

We decided a while back that at some point we'd do a marathon together, and where better than the Big Apple and arguably the world's most popular marathon. Thankfully that means a summer training schedule - winter running in Calgary would have been somewhat less enjoyable. As it is the sun is out and there's plenty of scenery to enjoy while we're training so there'll be no excuses by the time we get to November 5.

We've chosen SPARKS (http://www.sparks.org.uk), a children's charity, as our focus for fundraising for this event. We're hoping that our effort and your contributions will go some way to changing the lives of young kids for the better.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: SPARKS will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Thanks so much for your support.

Dave and Amber