So, the Marathon du Medoc is on the 7th September in the south of France, near Bordeaux. Miriam and I, and our friend Di, are doing this because Di read about it in an airline flight magazine and thought it would be good fun.  We have been training properly for several months and have now realised that it will not be good fun.  A full marathon is 42km (26 miles) and is going to take five or six hours.  The last few miles will be painful and desperate.

My first ever run was in April 2012, a distance of 2.5km.  Little did I think that I'd be attempting a marathon just 18 months later.  So far my training has been going according to plan, although running along the riverside towpaths in the evenings means I think I've swallowed more than my fair share of insects this year. 

Miriam is taking her training very seriously, with long sessions at the gym and taste testing all the available varieties of energy gel.  She has discovered that listening to the omnibus edition of The Archers is a good accompaniment to her Sunday morning training sessions, although that may not work so well in France.

But, as the date draws near we think we are ready.  It's a fancy dress marathon with a sci-fi theme, so we've decided to masquerade as members of the Star Trek crew, although I think our costumes will be fairly minimal as any extra weight and encumbrances will not be tolerated.

We are raising money for the Sam Beare Hospice in Weybridge which along with it's sister organisation, the Woking Hospice, provides palliative care for patients and their families in this area.

Please help by donating generously for this worthwhile charity.