As many of you already know, I have made the absolutely deluded decision to run a marathon in March. This is particularly ridiculous because not even running for a bus interests me in the slightest, so running 26 miles will be a real slog, and most likely very painful. I'm already regretting my decision to do it! I'm currently deployed on operations with the Army and my plan is to run the marathon at the end of our tour. I won't be the only one running it from the Regiment, but rather than just doing it for my own sense of achievement, I've decided I will do it for a charity, St John, with which my extended family has long been involved. This will also, hopefully, force me to actually train and complete what will be my biggest (only) physical achievement.

Many of you already know that a good friend of mine, Dave Seath, sadly died whilst running the London Marathon last year in spite of him being at the peak of his fitness. I've chosen to raise money for a different charity than Dave partly because of the circumstances of his death due to cardic arrest. St John Ambulance do fantastic work supporting events such as the London Marathon, and are oft unsung heroes. Closer to home for me is St John Scotland, which provides mountain rescue services, mountain safety, public access defibrillators and patient transport services across Scotland, as well as supporting other projects across the world, including the famous St John Eye Hospital, Jerusalem. As with the Ambulance crews, many people have been looked after by St John volunteers in the mountains and elsewhere over the years.

I'll be running the Paphos marathon in Cyprus on the 4th of March,  so hopefully it won't be too hot. I'll try and put some regular updates on here so you can track how badly I'm getting on with my training! I'll also let you all know the result, presuming I actually make it rob the other end.

My target is to reach £500 and I ask for your support in getting there. Your help is much appreciated in this, and all donations, no matter how small, will be gratefully received and will help me to reach this goal. Thank you all in advance!