Having vowed never to repeat my one and only foray into the world of ultra marathons I find myself once again staring at the (enemy) start line of another 100km, this time the aptly named Race to the Stones taking place on 8 July 2023. 100km in distance, it starts in Lewknor, Oxfordshire along one of the UK's oldest paths the Ridgway and finishes at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Avebury stone circle in Wiltshire. In preparation we will also be taking part in the sister event Race to the Kings 50km on 17 June 2023 around the South Downs in West Sussex - a gentle "warm up"!

This time I will be accompanied by two team mates, my work colleague Russell King and my parenting colleague Tony Collins. Various questions spring to mind about our tumultuous/terrific/terrifying trio - who will reach the finish line first? Who will raise spirits when the chips are down? And most importantly, who will be the first of us to be reduced to tears?

In all seriousness, our many reservations about taking on this daunting/absurd challenge are quickly trivialised by the prospect of (hopefully) raising lots of much needed funds for Alzeimers Research UK. These days it seems everyone has a connection with dementia - whether directly or indirectly - and we hope our efforts will help those doing the really hard work of finding a cure for the diseases that cause it.