Hello generous visitor!  As you now know - I'm running the Flora London Marathon 2008. Now, why would I put myself through this you may ask.

Well.. My mum has run SIX marathons and, although I'm very proud of her, I'm fed up of her asking me when I'm going to do one. Also, I watched the marathon from the end of Tower Bridge last year and a man, aged around 40, ran past me with two false legs. And I thought, 1. I need a pint before I start blubbing in front of my friends. And 2. What an absolute hero, if he can do it, then what the hell am I doing standing here with a Calippo in my hand?!

So, I got my place and I've been training for about six months. The training has got serious since Christmas and I'm hopefully on track. For the most part, I've been training on my own, armed with just my trusty iPod. I have suffered a knee injury in the last two weeks but, fingers crossed, that's not going to stop me. Apart from that it's just been blisters and sore nipples - par for the course I suppose.

I have set  a fairly modest fundraising target of £1,250 but hopefully, with your generosity, I can go beyond that. I have chosen to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society as five years ago my grandad, Alan Scoggins, died after a long fight with dementia. And in the last year my aunt has been diagnosed with an early form of the disease. So here's an idea of where your hard-earned cash will go...

The Alzheimer's Society is the UK's leading care and research charity for people suffering with dementia. There are currently over 700,000 people known to have the disease - enough to fill every Premier League football ground. In less than 20 years over one million people will suffer from some form of dementia. If i reach my target, this will (for example) pay for 200 hours of a support worker's time. In simple terms, someone with no family or friends to care for them can be visited and cared for twice a day for three months. In this time they can be professionally assessed and possibly moved into a government funded home where they get specialist care 24/7.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Alzheimer's Society 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. So please tick the 'Gift Aid' box when donating.

So please sponsor me now - just think how far the money from a few pints can go!

Many thanks for your support.

Dean Scoggins