In a few weeks time I will be running my first Marathon at the sprightly age of 42.  Many who know me might be unaware of my athletic prowess, as indeed am I - however, I was keen to take on this challenge.

Although this started as a personal challenge it does seem right that some good can come out of my inevitable agony.

So I would like to raise a few quid for Greenpeace and here is why:

I have been  member of Greenpeace for almost 30 years.  In this time I spent time actively involved in its work, conducted research for them and also disagreed with some of their campaigns!  But I have always supported their core values to promote Environmental sustainability and awareness and to challenge corporations and governments.  And boy, do we ever need people to challenge these organisations like we do now.

With major challenges facing the planet (plastic waste, habitat destruction, exploitation of resources, climate change) it take an organisation like Greenpeace to work at the global scale.

I was also reminded of the education and awareness raising they conduct, when a recent Greenpeace advert came on before a film I was seeing with some of my kids.  This instantly energized them to discuss issues like habitat destruction and plastic waste, which they have taken to their school and developed there own local campaigns.  It has reminded me why I joined Greenpeace almost 30 years ago.