This is real.

This is not a drill, a hoax, a fugazi, a dream, or a morally bankrupt high stakes rouse. 

I, Janak Vyas, am training to run the London Marathon in 2024 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and I'd be so grateful for your support in raising £2,500.

The work that the BHF does is particularly close to my... heart. (sorry, inexcusable pun but too tempting to avoid). 

My family, like so many families in the South Asian community, has had and continues to have, an arduous, long lasting and emotionally draining battle with heart disease. It kept my grandfather and me from meeting, and has since claimed many members of my family; most recently my dear uncle Ajay. My father Kiran continues to work hard everyday in recovery, following a heart attack a few years ago.

If you have spent more than five minutes in my company you will know I'm more likely to be seen wearing white in the home end at the Tottenham Toilet Bowl than I am caught lacing up a pair of Asics. I hope in some way this demonstrates the personal importance of this particular charity and cause. Training has already started, and my initial verdict is that running is not as terrible as I had once thought (but it's still bad).

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives. It's only thanks to support from people like you that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures. £24 could pay for two hours of research by an early career scientist, but every pound helps so please give what you can to help me hit my target of £2,500. 

ALSO: I will personally match the amount raised by you, my dear friends, family and colleagues, to go to the UNICEF Gaza Emergency appeal. Please do be generous. 

Thank you so much, and stay tuned for some progress updates to document my slow but inevitable dissent into insanity, as I delve further into this bizarre, sadist cult that is distance running. Let's get it.