Hello, everybody!!!

I've entered the London Landmarks 2026 half-marathon in April and here are three reasons why ...

(1) It is not a full marathon.

(2) I was goaded into it. More specifically, I was emotionally blackmailed into taking part by my friend the Guardian Football Weekly podcast presenter, Max Rushden. He pounced during an episode of the show when I stupidly observed that running a half-marathon "can't be all that difficult". At the time I was belittling the efforts of Gavin, a good friend of mine who'd just completed his first half-marathon.

(3) I really need to shed some timber, the price of Mounjaro has gone through the roof and training for the London Landmarks HM provides an ideal opportunity to try to get fit while raising some money for an excellent cause: Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity!

I had originally set what I thought was a rather ambitious target of £13,100, which is a thousand pounds per mile but thanks to the astonishing generosity of the audiences of the Guardian Football Weekly podcast and TalkSport, I ONLY WENT AND REACHED IT within a fortnight. Thanks so much, everyone – I am genuinely humbled by your generosity and only slightly annoyed that you have left me in a position where I can't drop out of the race. With that in mind, I have decided to double my original target to £26,200.

Some context: At the start-line I will be 53 years old. I am overweight. I drink too much. I am completely unfit and I have not run further than a mile without stopping to cough and/or cry in over 15 years. Generally speaking, I only run if I am being pursued.

While I am loathe to describe what I am doing as anything so grand as "a personal journey", there is quite literally a destination and reaching it will will involve a lot of running – an activity I despise.

With that in mind, please give anything you can, safe in the knowledge that I'll be enduring a world of pain to try to alleviate some of that suffered by so many wonderful and brave kids.

But also remember it's not about them - it's very much about me.

Donating through JustGiving is easy so please donate if you can - every pound makes a MASSIVE difference!