UPDATE: Well I'm back. I made it to 5100m before injury set in, which is about 90% of the way up.I'm hoping that this won't affect anyone's decision to honour their sponsorship pledges and I hope no one feels as though I let them down or didn't try. It was a wonderful experience and you can read the full story on my blog.

UPDATE: Because of how generous everyone has been to date I've completely smashed my original minimum sponsorship target so I'm giving myself a new target of £4500. Might have to do a bit more standing outside supermarkets for that one. Thanks to all so far!

It’s been a while since I did anything for charity so one mad afternoon Shruti and I decided we’d sign up to Trek to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro for our favourite charities. I would like to point out that I was not inspired by the Red Nose trek… I was blissfully unaware of it but it does give me hope. If Chris Moyles can do this then so can I! I may have run a half marathon, and dabbled with other forms of physical exertions in the past but this is a first for me and will be a huge achievement on two counts.

Firstly this isn’t just a wander up a hill. Kilimanjaro, “The Roof of Africa”, is the highest mountain on the continent. We will follow the beautiful Machame Route, approaching Kilimanjaro from the south, and through rainforest, moorland and scree, climbing to its snowcapped summit at 5896m. We will complete the ascent in 6 days with the trip taking 10 in total.

However, in order to do this I need to raise a minimum of £3,400 before I go on February 26th 2010. That will be the second achievement. I've decided to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer because it's a cause that means a lot to me. Members of my family have been affected by cancer and I believe the work they do is incredibly important.

But I don’t expect you give your money for nothing in return – oh no. I have a blog about my training and fundraising efforts as well as uploading photos and video clips so you can follow my progress, if you want! And of course after the event there will be plenty of photographic evidence that I completed the trek :)

So thank you for visiting my fundraising page. All that’s left is to ask you to please sponsor me now!

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Breakthrough Breast Cancer 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.