Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

At the beginning of this year I was at least two stones overweight and could barely run half a mile without stopping. 2.5 stone lighter and with a sub-2-hour Dartford Half Marathon under my belt, some kind of insanity has persuaded me to step up to the challenge of a full marathon on 20th October.

From 2001 to 2004 I lived and worked in Bangladesh on the UK DFID-funded PETRRA project that had the aim of "Poverty Elimination Through Rice Research Assistance". During this time we aimed to empower farmers to take control of decisions that helped to improve their harvest and I set up a molecular biology lab and trained government scientists in molecular biology techniques that would help them to further support rice farmers.

CARE was one of the partners involved in this project and I saw the great work that they did in fighting poverty in developing countries.

During this time I also recognised the level of inequality in the world and how important aid agencies such as CARE International are in helping to fight poverty, reduce suffering and create a world that is more just and fair.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to encourage people to donate to CARE International. Running the Amsterdam Marathon is a personal challenge but if that can also encourage people to donate to CARE (or any other international aid agency, for that matter) then all the better. Having seen real poverty in Bangladesh I realise how lucky I am. I hope that you too can realise that what ever difficulties you have there are people out there in much greater need.

An inspiration in going for this challenge is my Dad, Brian Stevens, who died nearly five years ago from complications of chemotherapy taken to reduce the chance of  bowel cancer returning. He ran several marathons, much faster than I am capable of. He was also someone who really cared about all kinds of people and having visited me in Bangladesh and having seen the effects of poverty in a developing country, I hope that he would have agreed with my choice of charity. He is much loved and much missed.

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.

Thanks so much for whatever you can spare, either via the DONATE button on this page or Text CSAM68 £5 to 70070 to sponsor me today. Thanks.