As unbelieveable as it sounds, on May 16th, I will be taking part in a half marathon.

I will be running the "swift half" of the White Peaks marathon, taking place in the beautiful Dearbyshire Peak district.

In honour of the momentous occaison of Kate "can't run for a bus" Hofman running 21 km (that's 13 miles), I would like to try and raise some money for the Koestler Trust, who do far more challenging things than that all the time.

The Koestler Trust is a Prison Arts Charity, who award, exhibit and sell artworks by offenders, detainees and high security patients. They aim:

• to help offenders lead more positive lives by motivating them to participate in the arts;
• to demonstrate the power of arts activity in the criminal justice system.

The Koestler Awards attract over 5,000 entries a year from inmates of prisons, young offender institutions, secure hospitals and immigration removal centres across the UK, as well as offenders supervised by probation and youth offending services.

The best visual arts entries go into an annual exhibition - the national showcase of arts in criminal justice, held at London's Southbank Centre.

I think that the work that the trust do is fantastic, and I'm proud to support them in the education and support that they provide to people who society often gives up on.

You can visit their website here: www.koestlertrust.org.uk

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Koestler Trust gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!