Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

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Stop Press : We completed the walk in 14 hours which sounds like a long time until you realise quite how far up and down hill it was - including about an hour for breaks this was walking (or sometimes climbing!) non stop for 13 hours and boy did it hurt.

We ran into some marathon runners who told us that it was much harder than running the london marathon and there was even a guy at the end who said he'd had an easier time on the three peaks challenge! At any rate for three, relatively unfit types such as me, Charlotte and Mark, it was seriously tough.

Thanks to everybody who has sponsored me, I have been amazed by your generosity. Thanks to Finsbury for doubling what I have raised, which is wonderful. Thanks to Charlotte for being a complete star and literally being there to lean on down the last few slopes when I could not step downhill with one leg. Thanks to Mark for being great company and to St Richards for being hugely organised, very supportive and a fantastic cause that made all the pain worthwhile.

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At the grand old age of 30 I have decided it is time to take some exercise.

In a fit of madness I have signed up to do a 31 mile walk over hilly terrain to raise money for St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester. Charlotte has very kindly agreed to accompany me and will no doubt be racing me every mile of the way.

Now those who know me well will know that 31 miles is about 30.5 miles further than I tend to walk on the average day (except when canvassing of course). So some may question whether I will make it.

However I have been getting into training, walking to and from the pub, walking to work and even up the nine staircases at work to get to my office. Why you may ask?

Partly because a walk in the Worcestershire countryside is always a good thing to do…but mostly because the hospice movement in general and St Richards in particular are extremely good causes.

When you think about it the two things we can all guarantee are that we are born and we will die. In contrast to the huge amount of effort and money that go into ensuring we have the care we need for the former, many are much worse off for the latter, without the care that we would hope for.

The hospice movement provides care for people and makes life worth living at a time when the remaining time available to them is more precious than ever. It also provides care and counselling for their families after they are gone.

St Richards is an amazing place, built on time and on budget entirely with money raised from local people in Worcester and caring for hundreds in the area for whom the NHS cannot or will not provide terminal care.

When I first visited St Richards, I was expecting it to be a challenging, even depressing evening. What I saw was so uplifting and so positive that even if I had needed convincing of the great work of the hospice movement, I would have been absolutely convinced.

They need our money to keep on providing the amazing care that they do to people who need it.

Thanks to the generosity of my friends, and the fact that Finsbury has agreed to double whatever I raise, I have been able to increase my fundraising target.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: St Richard's Hospice Foundation gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!