On June 3rd I will set out from Lands End on a 5-week running journey from toe to tip of the UK. The total distance will be 1,066 miles, with an average of 34 miles per day and up to 1,500m elevation each day (that's the equivalent of going up Ben Nevis). 

Cornwall Air Ambulance is one of three charities I am raising money for, the other 2 being Keswick Mountain Rescue and Chestnut Tree Children's Hospice in Sussex. Please donate to whichever charity you prefer.

I first 'met' Cornwall Air Ambulance when I was a newly qualified doctor and working in Treliske Hospital in Truro. The air ambulance was relatively new back in those days but was frequently seen landing immediately outside the hospital, especially in the summer months when Cornwall's population expands. The air ambulance now flies over 1,000 missions annually, over 20% of which are for visitors to the county.  The rural nature of Cornwall makes the air ambulance essential to treat the most critically ill patients in the county. By road it could take hours to reach hospital, by air it is minutes.

I fell in love with Cornwall back in the 1990s, and have returned almost every year since then. The family now enjoy the Cornish coast almost as much as I do. As Run Britannia starts in Cornwall, the local air ambulance seems a very apt charity especially as they are very much dependent on donations.