As many of you already know, I am running the Chicago Marathon on October 13th. I have been training for a good 4 or 5 months, so quietly confident of a top 10 placing, somewhere amongst the Kenyans and Ethiopians. It is the first time I've done a marathon and so when I'm 22 miles in, in agony and cursing the world and everyone in it, I'm hoping that your kind support and any money raised will make it a little less unbearable.

I am raising money for Child of Hope, a children's charity based in Mbale, a city in Eastern Uganda. I have been in contact with the charity for nearly a couple of years, after I was told about it by a friend who spent a summer working at the local hospice in Mbale, and who witnessed first-hand the incredible work that the charity does.

Child of Hope provides life-saving healthcare and support to those unable to afford it, and also runs a free primary school which has grown to cater for 310 pupils from the Namatala slum and provide education that the children would otherwise not have access to.

I contacted the charity to get an idea of how they'd intend to use the money raised. It was suggested that the money be used to help build a playground with good quality play equipment for the children. This this may sound a bit frivolous at first relative to some projects, but there are no playgrounds in the area and so it will be of great benefit to the children who currently have no dedicated play area.

For those wanting to know more, this page lays out the objectives of the charity: http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/about-coh/objectives/ Please get in touch if you have any questions. For anyone interested in supporting the charity longer term, there is an option to donate regularly (http://www.childofhopeuganda.org/donate-regularly/). I have sponsored children to go to school for just £10 per month and as a sponsor you receive letters from the children and a photograph, so it is a very rewarding process. Finally, so as not to misinform people, I should say that CoH is a christian charity. I am not religious, but do appreciate the incredible work that they do to improve the welfare and quality of life of children born into the harshest conditions.

Any donation, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated.