Dear friends, 

Recently, Daniel Marks, a colleague and friend told me about a campaign he and his friend Jack Dyson had started for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity called Father and Son day. 

The aim of the campaign is first and foremost to get men to talk to each other about health issues – something we are notoriously bad at – and importantly from a fundraising perspective to train more cancer surgeons in robotic surgery.

When Daniel told me that the driving force behind his campaign was that the Marsden had saved his life when he was 17, I wanted to do something to help. 

So, I’m dedicating my fundraising for my first marathon in 9 years, on October 24th to Father and Son day, and I’d love you to make a pledge to encourage me to get to the finish line as fast as possible and to help Father & Son day achieve its aims. 

 Here’s how it works. My last marathon was in 2006 and I came in just under the 4 hour mark. I’m not asking for a penny, (unless you feel very generous!) unless I beat my last time as a fit 28 year old - but, I really want to meet my target of £5,000, and I would love it if you would pledge a bonus amount for every minute I manage to knock off 4 hours. My own personal target will be to complete it in 3.30, which could just be achievable, if my 37 year old knees hold out, and with a fair wind behind me! 

On the day of the race, you can even follow me on a live link I’ll send out to all the pledgers. I’ll need to do 8 minute miles to get 3hrs.30mins.

So, if you want to support this great charity, you have three choices: 

 1. Reply now, telling me how much you’d like to pledge (bet) including a per minute saved bonus - don’t pay anything now - you’ll get access to the live link on the day, and I’ll be emailing you afterwards to ask you donate. 

2. Generously make a donation now on my Just Giving page - and that’s the end of it! I promise I won’t bother you again! 

3. Check out www.fatherandsonday.com for more information on the charity

After the race, I’ll hopefully be able to write to you all again with an update on the time,

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.