Hi there, my name is Chris Maidment and on the 25th April 2010 i will be stretching my legs for a nice leisurely 26 mile jaunt around London, taking in the scenery, grabbing a few drinks and ending it all by being wrapped in one of those weird tinfoil blankets.  Unfortunately my name is not Haile Gebrselaisse so i imagine that it will not be a 'leisurely 26 mile jaunt' but bl**dy hard!

So why am i doing this? Good question really....  Well i have always wanted to do a marathon, and this year seemed like as good a year as any to try one.  Strange really as i never used to like, or even enjoy running but the more i challenged myself the more i enjoyed it and so the marathon ended up being the long term goal, and this is the year i have chosen to realise that goal!

The second reason and the main one is that i am lucky enough to be fit and well and marrying an amazing woman in the summer.  Unfortunately some of the people that we would have loved to have shared the day with us will not be there as they have had their lives cut short by cancer.  Cancer is an unfair and untimely disease that can pretty much strike anyone at anytime.  I would love the opportunity to raise as much money as possible for this really worthwhile cause.

So who am i running for? 

I am running for AICR or the Association for International Cancer Research.  This is a charity that raises money for scientists around the world to develop cures for all of the different strains of cancer, by improving prevention, detection and treatment.

So this is where you come in really, i would be really grateful if you would sponsor me for the marathon, it doesnt matter how much, the gesture is kind enough in itself.  It will aid me for motivation through the dark, cold wintery days and nights as well as the all of the blimin hills that seem to be everywhere in Caerphilly!

My target is £1600 which seems a lot but i am sure i will get there through all of your help.  If your wondering how AICR will spend the money here is a brief breakdown:

1) £10 - Will enable a research scientist to grow cancer cells in a test tube for reseacrh,

2) £50 - Willcover the cost of analyzing a sample cancer tissue,

3) £100 - Will pay for computer analysis on the structure of a new cancer drug, towards creating new medications,

4) £1000 - Will allow a top scientist to examin the make-up of a cancer gene, to work out how the disease spreasds and potentially kills and how it can be beaten.

As you can see this is extremely worthwhile, so thanks for taking the time to read my page.  I will post photos and let you all know how well my trianing is doing.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Cheers, Chris