As I didn’t get in to the London Marathon, I went for the next best thing and I'm off to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (aka North Korea) in April to run the Pyongyang Marathon on Sunday 7th April.

It's in memory of my dad who died of a brain tumour in October 2017, and to raise money for Pendleside Hospice. All donations will go to the hospice and I will be paying for all of the trip myself.

I'll always be grateful to the hospice for the amazing job they did of looking after my dad at the end of his life. I know they get a lot of support, but they get no public funding, yet make an incredible difference to patients and their families in the most difficult of times. 

The race is through the streets of the North Korean capital and there's a four-hour time limit so I have to do it in a decent time.

Any donations that you can give, no matter how big or small, will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

James