Please sponsor me for taking part in the Swimathon 2019 supporting Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie. Over 21,000 swimmers will be taking on the challenge for these two great causes. 

A lot of you will probably think swimming 5k will be easy for me, but I can promise you this will be a challenge. My normal swim is about 20 lengths and then I'm a bit tired, but mainly bored, the swim has refreshed my body and I can get out of the pool and go home. For this swim though I need to up the number of lengths to 200 and I'm also going to have to get through the boredom of swimming length, after length, after length. 

So why do it? Because obviously I love a physical challenge to work towards and I can't think of two better and more relevant charities to me right now to support. 

I think pretty much everyone has had their lives touched by cancer in some shape or form and it's an ugly, cruel disease. There's over 360,000 incidences of cancer ever year, that's 990 a day. We hope that one day we will be able to find a cure for this disease, but in the mean time we can fight it together. I am swimming this in memory of Frank Vella, who sadly lost his battle to cancer late last year. 

Cancer Research UK, the worlds leading cancer charity is dedicated to saving lives through research. They don't receive any government funding for their work, so their progress is all thanks to the support of people like you. Marie Curie provides expert care, guidance and support for people living with any terminal illness, and their families. Around 2,100 Marie Curie Nurses work day and night, in peoples homes all over the UK, providing hands-on care to people when they need it most.