<p>I've always known the London Marathon - people ran past our garden every year and our apple tree was always visible on TV for a split second. Even it's timing had always been such that it caused me inconvenience every year when I wouldn't be able to return to university until the evening due to blocked roads. The inconvenience being the lost hours I could have spent drinking with friends.</p> <p>It was just last April when I did a bit of volunteering at the London Marathon. I heard the most inspiring stories first hand from the finishers themselves, from the hardship of training and the run itself to their cause and the large sums of money they raised towards it. I told myself that day that one day I will run it and have a story to tell - little did I know I would be able to do this the very next year.</p> <p>I'm raising money for a charity called London Youth. They work with youth groups in every London borough to support youngsters and their families with disadvantaged backgrounds. They promote the kind of social awareness and values in modern society which would totally have prevented the riots if they had the capacity and resources to expand their aura of benevolence. They work to a great cause - totally relevant and simply inspiring.</p> <p>So - this is a very big opportunity for me, I'm very excited about it - also a bit nervous. I've never been a fan of running, never done much of it before, so it will be a big personal challenge. I shall be training very hard and I shall try to keep everyone updated as my training progresses. I hope you'll support me generously in my cause. Thanks for reading!&nbsp;</p>