Paris in the Springtime. The city of love. A morning in the Louvre, followed by a romantic stroll along the Seine and down the Champs-Elysees. Coco Chanel, Charles de Gaulle, Marie Antoinette. Baguettes, berets, socialism. And of course... 

Thousands of exhausted bodies struggling through the 26th mile of torture, bravely surging on to fight through 'the wall', their legs soft and wobbly like snails, covered in garlicky sweat, but uncompromising, focussed by ambition and inspired by the fierce Gallic passion of the crowd.

Yes, you guessed it - I'm running the Paris marathon in April and I'd really like you to sponsor me.

Your money will go to the Alzheimer's Society, who are leading the fight against dementia in the UK. I'm sure many of you have relatives who have suffered from dementia, so you'll most likely be familiar with the devastating nature of this heart-breaking illness. The Alzheimer's Society are a relatively young charity who punch well above their weight. Their recent partnership with Tesco helped raise awareness (and a fair amount of funding) and now they have partnered with Lloyds Banking Group to promote their Live Well campaign. There is no cure for dementia, but we can at least make life as enjoyable and liveable as possible for sufferers and carers.  

I'm aiming to raise £500 in sponsorship, which will be matched by my generous employer, up to a total of £1000. This money will go towards the Live Well campaign, which will offer 9,000 carers the information and skills they need to support their loved one to live well with dementia. £1000 would be enough to train one trainer to transform the lives of hundreds of carers.

I'm currently working to a rigorous training schedule (between trips to Infernos) which will hopefully enable me to break 3:30 for the 26 miles, so please feel free to include a 'bonus challenge' in your pledge to inspire / embarass me. All requests considered. I'll keep you updated on here with my progress, so keep checking back if you're nice and warm relaxing at home and fancy feeling a little smug.

Many thanks and hoping you'll dig deep,

Francis