UPDATE: I ran the BUPA 10k on Sunday 27th of May. It was a swelteringly hot day and hard going, but I drank lots of water, savoured the shady parts of the course and finished in 1hr 13mins which was quicker than I expected. I've raised enough money to send 162 brand new books to libraries in Sub-Saharan Africa but there is still room for more and you can still donate here if you haven't done so already. Thanks.

Read my blog post about my training here.

My original spiel:

I don't really exercise much. I think I last exercised in about 2003 and have never been the most athletic person - disinterested in sport, lazy and unfit. So this year I've decided to challenge myself and see if I can do a run.

But it's not a vanity project; I decided to do it because I've been getting involved with BookAid international through my job, and have found them to be truly inspiring in their work. They promote literacy and education in the developing world through local partnerships and investment in books, libraries and educational schemes and have done some truly amazing work in sub-Saharan Africa, among other places. So I thought it would be a good idea to challenge myself personally in a way I have never done before and contribute to a wonderful worldwide charity programme.

So please donate some money if you can. Anything you can spare will go towards BookAid's international efforts which you can find out more about at http://www.bookaid.org/our-work/ if you need further convincing. Your pennies will also go towards my motivation and towards convincing me that I'm not insane and that I can get through the training and not collapse in the middle of London and make a tit of myself. So it's a good cause on many levels.

The run is on Sunday 27th May if you'd like to come and watch me pant my way through it in a pair of foolish running shorts.

You can also donate via text if you prefer - text PJBK79 £2 to 70070 to donate £2 to BookAid. This is enough money to send a textbook to someone who really, really needs it.