"Charity blah blah a great challenge blah blah blah amazing journey for me personally blah blah worthy cause blah please give generously blah blah yadda yadda...."

I know you've heard it all before, and that there are many demands on your bounty. I'm sure you already give to lots of other very worthy causes. You may even be suffering from "compassion fatigue", or be temporarily annoyed that so-called 'chuggers' had the temerity to ask you to donate some money to something worthwhile today, rather than buying more crisps in Tesco.

And I can't pretend that running a half-marathon is a "once in a lifetime challenge" for me like climbing Aconcagua (that's the highest peak in South America, quiz fans) or swimming the Channel (English or Bristol). The fact is that I love running, to a level bordering on the obsessive. I train six times a week and log every step on Garmin and Strava. I run a lot of races (apart from actual marathons), and can handle a half fairly comfortably, especially amid the Georgian splendour of Bath.

So why am I bothering you and bringing you here?

THE CHARITY: FRIENDS OF YOUNG CARERS

Friends of Young Carers (Bath and North East Somerset), currently chaired by my friend and former colleague Peter Blair, is a small charity of which you probably won't have heard.

Who or what are "Young Carers"? They are children aged up to 18 with caring responsibilities in their home. They might have to help a parent or other family member with physical or mental health issues, or alcohol or drug problems. "Caring" can include personal care, cooking, cleaning, shopping or 'all of the above'. What many young carers have in common is the pressure and isolation which comes from having such 'adult' responsibilities. Many struggle at school, educationally and socially, and can themselves develop physical or mental illness from the stress under which they are placed.

FOYC (BANES), to use its acronymic title, seeks to provide information, support, advocacy and some greatly appreciated awards, breaks and 'treats' for up to 580 identified young carers in the BANES area. While the regular information and support services, including the free newsletter 'Chill' and one-to-one visits, consume a large amount of FOYC's time and resources, what impresses me is that even a small donation can make a real difference to a young carer's life. Imagine how much pleasure just a trip to the cinema, or tea and cake somewhere nice, can give to children whose daily lives are so challenging. Just £5 could give a child a priceless break from their routines.

Local authority funding and support for such young carers is scarce and insufficient. And FOYC can't take up all the slack itself. As a charity, it too is under-resourced for all the things it would like to do to help. But every little donation helps and has an impact. FOYC is a small charity, but one benefit of that is that its overheads are relatively low. So a much larger proportion of your donations will go directly into their work.

EWAN'S "DOUBLE YER MONEY" PB CHALLENGE

That's the appeal to your hearts and purse strings. And now here's a bit of extra spice....to combine my love of running with such a worthwhile cause, I've decided to "make it interesting" when I'm pounding the streets of Bath on 17th March.

Bath is a very popular half-marathon, not just because Bath is lovely (although Bristol is a better place to live - just saying..), but also because it is a relatively quick course, suitable for what runners cherish above all else, even medals: "PBs" (personal bests).

I'm going to try and go for my PB in this race. Good for me, you might say. But more than that: if I beat my existing PB, I WILL MATCH YOUR DONATIONS WITH MY OWN MONEY. In other words, the amount I raise for FOYC will be DOUBLED.

I will go all out, don't worry. No jokes, please, about me being Scottish and slowing down in the final mile.

Even if I don't do it, or get injured/sick/lost on the way, I still hope to raise a good sum. And I have to say, donating in this way through JustGiving is a lot easier than faffing around with "sponsorship forms" then scrabbling around for weeks afterwards chasing the non-payers. You just click a few times and send your money. JustGiving then sends it directly to FOYC. So it's more efficient - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

But enough of my yakking. Click on this page and give generously, or just what you can. And watch out for updates from now up until race day..

Ewan xxx

PS  - 1:24:37, since you ask. Not that it's etched in my consciousness or anything.