I am running the UTMB on August 26th to raise money for CLIC Sargent, the UK's leading children's cancer charity. The inspiration behind this cause is a little four year old girl called Ellen Walker, the daughter of a close friend of mine.

The UTMB is a 167 km trail run that climbs over 9700 meters of positive vertical (thats like running from sea level to Everest and then down again!), spans the 3 countries of France, Italy and Switzerland, and is fast becoming known as the toughest off road race in the world. It is an individual race that you have to qualify for, where there is a 60% drop out rate, and where the winner will take 21 hrs or so to complete. In fact the top 50 will break 30 hrs so I will be in for a long 2 nights and day for sure! http://www.ultratrailmb.com/page/36/Profile.html

Ellen was diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma (an aggressive form of childhood cancer) in February 2009, days before her second birthday. She battled through over a year of intensive treatment including chemotherapy, surgery, bone marrow transplant, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Last year I was one of a team of 12 who ran the 2010 London Marathon and raised over £75,000 to help fund research into curing children with neuroblastoma. Ellen finished treatment for neuroblastoma in April 2010 but in January of this year she was diagnosed with high risk Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. This secondary cancer has been caused by the chemotherapy previously given to treat the neuroblastoma. Since diagnosis, Ellen has been in hospital for five months of intensive chemotherapy treatment and is currently undergoing a second bone marrow transplant, which is her only chance of cure. Whilst Ellen continues to defy the odds of surviving, many children with Ellen's illnesses do not. CLIC Sargent is the only organisation to offer families of children with cancer all round care and support, whatever the outcome, and they have been an enormous help to Ellen and her family. Please give generously to this worthwhile cause. www.clicsargent.org.uk.