Hello all you filthy rich moneybag over-pampered Westerners (by global standards...).....

On Sunday 8th November I'll be retracing Pheidippides' steps as he hot-footed it from Marathon to Athens to ask if they wanted garlic or chilli sauce with their souvlaki... or something like that. As if the Berlin marathon with man-flu 2 years ago wasn't enough, I have decided to do the athletic equivalent of voluntarily sticking rusty pins in my eyes and signed up for the Athens Classic Marathon. This is the same marathon that forced Paula Radcliffe to retire from the Olympics because of the hills and heat - but hopefully in November it won't be too roastopolous.

BUT I am not just doing this to try and find my six-pack again (as if I have ever found it before....) - I have a far more worthy cause - I am running in aid of Merlin - the lesser known English version of Medicins Sans Frontieres that sends English medical staff packed with crucial life-saving knowledge and skills to some of the most perlious and down-right massively screwed up places on Earth. Its work is vital to the people they serve and provides a basic medical infrastructure in places where all other pillars of welfare and civilisation have long-since collapsed.

So please, rather buying yet another Aston Martin DB9, opt for a secondhand DB7 and donate the savings to a good cause..... All donations will be very gratefully received and give me a bit more mental fuel to get me to that finish in downtown Athens.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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