It's always been an ambition of mine to run a marathon and when I say A marathon, I mean just one! I am definitely not what you'd call a natural born runner and the thought of running 26 miles is a daunting prospect, but at the beginning of this year I decided to cross this particular challenge off my (yet to be written) bucket list and signed up for the 2014 Loch Ness Marathon.

I haven't followed the training plan quite as rigorously as I would have liked, but have so far clocked up 68 training sessions this year totaling over 700km with just a few days left to go until the all important final 42km. The 13, 15, 18 and 20 mile training runs are behind me now and despite early reservations and a few niggling aches and strains, I think I might actually stand a chance of making it round in one piece.

Obviously I have my own reasons for taking on the challenge, but would also like to take the opportunity to raise some money for a very worthy cause. The official charity partner of the race is Macmillan, which is a cause very close to my own heart. Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer providing practical, medical, emotional and financial support and pushing for better cancer care. One in three of us will get cancer. Two million of us are living with it. We are all affected by cancer. We can all help.

I will be eternally grateful for any donations (no matter how small) that you are able to make, to help support this amazing charity and to give me that extra bit of incentive to keep going through those last few miles when my calves are cramping and my feet hate me.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and reading this far.

Marcus