Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As you may already know, I am going to run the John Austin Half Marathon in the New Forest with bare feet. So let me tell you something you don't know:

What is the John Austin Half?

The John Austin Half Marathon on March 4th has been organised in memory of New Forest resident John Austin, a keen sportsman who was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. During his illness he recieved great care from the Oakhaven Hospice and the run has been organised to help raise funds for its work supporting those with terminal illness.

2012 is its second year and hopefully it will be as successful as last year.  The course is 13.1 miles (half marathon) through the forest and heathland around Brockenhurst, with most of the running being on gravel forestry roads and tarmac, with some grass and a bit of mud thrown in if the weather is wet.

Running Barefoot

You may be wondering why I am running it barefoot.  The short answer is that I've been running barefoot to improve my technique for a while and it has enabled me to enjoy running injury free, though only recently have I dared try it on cross country runs with mud, water, sticks, stones and other things you find in the countryside.

I ran 10km barefoot in Brisbane with Vineeta in 2010 and in November 2011 ran my first half marathon (with shoes on), and decided that my next challenge would be to run one barefoot.

So I chose our local half marathon, which as it turns out is on one of the toughest surfaces for barefoot running (sharp gravel) and in the morning in early March the low temperatures will be a huge challenge, but I like a challenge, and it wouldn't be right to ask for your sponsorship without earning it.

Please sponsor me!

I think you'll agree that Hospice's like Oakhaven do a great job supporting the people we care about in the most difficult times of their life, and some day we may ourselves be thankful of their support.

So I'm sticking my feet on the line and running 13.1 miles on cold sharp gravel and I hope that you will sponsor me to help raise funds for Oakhaven.

I have set my fundraising target as £131 as I'd like to raise at least £10/mile, though of course it would be fantastic if together we could raise more.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and sponsor me now.