Having lost all common sense I have decided to compete in the Yukon Arctic Marathon on February 6th. 

Not being content to run a standard 42 km to raise money for charity I thought it would make things more interesting to run on top of a frozen river in temperatures ranging from -25 to -50 celcius. 

The Yukon Marathon starts in Whitehorse, relatively close to the border with Alaska and the race takes place predominantly along the Yukon river. As well as the extreme cold, competitors need to deal with varying terrains and often struggle through thick snow.

This is going to be a very tough race and one of my main motivations is to raise money for two charities that I greatly admire, Future Hope India and Greenhouse Schools Project in London.

JustGiving can only link a page to one charity at a time. This page is linked to Future Hope, details listed below. By clicking donate on this page you are donating 100% to Future Hope. If you wish to donate to Greenhouse Schools Project then please follow this link: http://www.justgiving.com/James-Elwes

Future Hope India

Future Hope was started by Tim Grandage in 1988. At the time he was working for HSBC Bank as a Branch Manager in Calcutta . Tim first came into contact with street children when he became friendly with a group who looked after his car. Through meeting and talking with them he became aware of their problems and needs.

Soon Tim had moved a group of children into his own flat and was looking after their most pressing medical and other needs. Tim soon discovered that many street children in Calcutta gravitated to the main stations of Howrah and Sealdah where many of the children at Future Hope still come from. The original children lived in cramped accommodation sleeping on the floor. Now Future Hope has 6 homes where the children can have their own space, study in peace and live a good life.

Future Hope now has more than 200 children on our records. Each month new children join the Future Hope family. But there are still many children living on the streets of Kolkata. Some choose to stay on the streets and we try to help them with advice and assistance. Some of these children keep in touch with us as someone they can look to if their situation deteriorates.

http://www.futurehope.net/ 

Greenhouse Schools Project 

Greenhouse Schools began with a holiday programme for young people living on a housing estate in 2002. There was a lot of demand for the children, this was their first opportunity to play sport in good facilities and so Greenhouse began to grow. 

Greenhouse empowers young people through sport and performing arts, helping them to overcome adversity and achieve their goals by:

Raising aspirations and achievements

Developing positive life skills such as self-discipline, teamwork and self-respect

Improving behaviour and attitudes

Developing technical skills and talent 

In 2009/10, Greenhouse operated 41 full-time sport and performing arts programmes in 30 schools and 5 community centres, with 10,000 young people participating

http://www.greenhousecharity.org/

Many thanks for your kind support.