I've only gone and signed up for another high-altitude marathon! After just managing to complete one in the Kenyan Highlands last October, whilst being hammered by golf ball-sized hail, I couldn't resist putting my body through a similar ordeal in Asia. The marathon itself will take place near the village of Kakani, which is about 90 minutes north of Kathmandu, and it will include at least 2,000m of climbing, reaching a high point of 2,350m. I'll be traveling around Asia until the race in November so training will be hard, but hopefully I'll be able to cross that finish line with some semblance of dignity! In the days prior to the race we'll be getting our hands dirty with an organisation called SmartPaani to ensure the kids of Kakani have access to clean, safe drinking water.

But it doesn't stop there, after the run I'll shoot off to the Himalayas in order to trek to Everest Base Camp. Although a trip to a "base camp" may not sound like the most impressive of endeavours, but I assure you it's no mean feat. After flying into Lulka, home to the most dangerous airport in the world, I'll begin the 14-day round trip to base camp, which sits at 5,364m. I'll be trekking 6-8 hours per day, in temperatures of -4 °C to 6 °C during the day, and as low as -15 °C.

I'm doing all this to raise money for a couple of great local Nepalese charities:

ChildreachNepal: Children should be #TaughtNotTrafficked. This programme uses sport to reduce dropout rates in the schools, to prevent child from being trafficking, indulging in unsafe migration and any other form of child abuse children may face once they drop out of school.

Burns Violence Survivors: With 56k of burns cases a year and only 1 hospital ward dedicated, this is a powerful project that goes right to the heart of Nepali culture. Not only tackling the care, but the prevention - a huge challenge when faced with the task of tackling domestic abuse and the use of acid in such attacks.

Please give xoxo