I'm Tim, at 4.30am on 3rd December I will join thousands of runners in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

I'll be doing it to raise money for NETA: North East Trust for Aphasia. It comes after several months of training in Singapore - which has been home for the last 10 years. In the words of Noel Coward only "mad dogs and Englishman go out in the midday sun" and in my own practice runs I can easily lose 2kgs just by running in the Singapore heat. That's not even to mention the close encounters with monkeys and monitor lizards.

I'm running for NETA because my stepmother Jill Williamson, who lives in Northumberland, suffered a stroke several years ago and suffers Aphasia, which affects ability to communicate. I ran the Singapore half-marathon for NETA and the virtual Great North Run around Singapore and now it's time to go the full monty!

Please take the time to sponsor me and raise money for NETA: North East Trust for Aphasia and to help Aphasia sufferers like Jill.