Ten years ago, at the age of 73, my dad climbed Kilimanjaro on a fundraising trek for the disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz. I met him on the way down and having climbed the mountain myself at a much younger age I’ve always been in awe of his achievement. An active sportsman all his life (he ran his first 5k race – for a children’s hospice – on the spur of the moment in 2007), he became a prolific charity fundraiser in his later years.

My dad died last year and to mark his memory I’ve set myself an Olympic-year challenge to run 2012 miles in a series of events in 2012. I'll be raising money for Whizz-Kidz; Freedom from Torture, whose work includes helping children whose families have survived torture in various parts of the world; and Teach Africa, a small charity that supports the education of girls in the slums of Nairobi. This page is for donations to Teach Africa.

The events I'm running include the TransBritain ultra, a six-day, 156-mile stage race starting at Robert the Bruce’s cave in Scotland and finishing at Ruthin Castle in North Wales. Now in its fourth year, its founder Steve Adams has used it to raise thousands of pounds for Teach Africa.

This is my personal Olympic Gold Challenge in aid of children who face much bigger challenges in life. I'm going to be helped along the way by a number of people, perhaps the most important being my sister Chris, who'll be doing a lot of the really hard work of fundraising. We’ll be grateful for any support – nothing’s too small.

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