It's a 50 mile running race that's mainly off road, and I'm aiming to complete it within the 'Gold Medal Standard' of 12 hours. To that end I have been putting myself through what has been, frankly, a pretty tortuous 16 week training schedule - and I wanted to sow the seed for some sponsorship from my colleagues!

I committed to the race a while ago, so had already chosen a couple of charities to support (MS Trust & Diabetes UK) and I hope you'll agree these are two fantastic causes. They are close to me for varying, personal reasons - which I hope is something that will spur me on a bit on the day.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page - and if you are planning on a challenge to push you both physically, and mentally, then I can recommend ultra running!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.