Updated on May 25th 2012 at 4:14 PM from the JustGiving API

Almost 1/3rd of the way there...amazing! Calves are getting nice and veiny, just in time for the lovely weather! Thank you so very much to those donating...

 

Dear All,

As some of you might know (and others will very soon find out), in September I am going to be heading out to Costa Rica and Nicaragua to work for Raleigh International! Out there I will be acting as an Interpreter/Manager on one of their various expeditions in the area.

As part of the programme, Raleigh has set a minimum target of £1950 to be raised and donated to the organization to secure my place. My plan, however, is to hit that out the proverbial park. Although my target is optimistic, I am hoping that the evident pain I’m going to be put through will influence you all to dig nice n’ deep!

Now, this is what I am going to do:

-Firstly, I am going to cycle from London to Antwerp (178 miles, 287 km) over 2 days at the end of July. Bear with me though, my story gets better…

-Secondly, after attending Tomorrowland Festival in Antwerp between July 27 and 29, I will then set off from Antwerp to join the rest of my family down in Burgundy, a tidy 493km (309 miles) due South. My target is to complete this in 3 days.

-Finally, I will be racing in the London Duathlon on September 9.

Now, this is where it gets really interesting. I am currently signed up for the Classic Distance, which involves a 10km run/40 km bike ride/5km run. However, if I reach my fundraising target, I intend to do what is appropriately named the Ultra Distance, which is double the Classic one.

The power, ladies and gentlemen, is in your hands.

To add to this, in the spirit of Raleigh International (who promote the importance of supplying the basic necessities to those who do not have them), all of this will be done with the very basic of kit. I have recently bought my first road bike; a charming little French Motocomfort racer from the early 70s. No clip-in system, no new components, nothing.

I strongly believe in Raleigh International and what it stands for, which is the creation of a global community through practical action. It uses challenging situations to bring people together, breaking boundaries of race, social background or class.

As part of the expeditions, we will be running a number of projects of various types, which include the building of schools, proper sanitation infrastructure and even elephant-proof fencing (no elephants in Costa Rica, though). These are all run on the basis of creating sustainable and lasting change in communities around the world. 

For more information about Raleigh International please visit:

http://www.raleighinternational.org/about-raleigh

Now, there is a slight catch, in that I have to hand in all donations by mid-July. However, all those who donate will be regularly informed on my progress, sent pictures of my sweaty face and ultrasounds of my heart etc…

I can’t stress enough how much I believe in this cause, so please do give generously if you can. For those of you who are in a similar post-graduation financial lull, even the smallest contribution is still a step in the right direction.

 Thank you all in advance for your support.