This October, at the grand age of 59, I’ll be lacing up again for the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London. Sensible? Debatable. Too late to stop now? Definitely.

I only got into running recently (mid-life crisis would be unfair… let’s call it “poor decision-making”). Last April I took on the London Marathon—my first and almost certainly last. Preparation didn’t exactly go to plan: I picked up an injury and didn’t run at all for the final six weeks beforehand. Race day itself involved 6 and a half hours of determination, a fair bit of limping over the last 10km, and the small detail of a stress fracture I didn’t know about at the time.

But—I finished it, and raised money for Children with Cancer UK, which made it all worthwhile.

Thinking I should probably aim a bit lower (and slightly less painful), I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon last October for Leukaemia Care and managed a much more respectable 2 hours 12 minutes—proof that I can run when all bones are intact.

So here we are again. Same event, slightly older legs, and this time raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. It’s a cause that becomes more relevant the older we get, and one that deserves as much support as possible.

I’m not aiming to break any records—just to get round in one piece this time. If my questionable life choices can help raise even a bit of money for a great cause, then it’s worth every mile.

If you can spare anything at all, I’d really appreciate it. And if not, a bit of encouragement might be just what I need around mile 10 when I start wondering why I signed up again.

Thanks for your support!