As some of you may know 2010 has been in many ways a pretty tragic year. One of my oldest friends Chelsea Cannon and one of my newest and closest friends Liz Beach-Macgeagh had their lives ended far too early by hit-and-run drivers.

I've decided to join others in taking a positive from these horrible events and raising money for an important cause by running two half marathons over the next few months.

I was originally running the Run to the Beat Half Marathon (www.runtothebeat.co.uk) after Chelsea's death to raise money for London's Air Ambulance as they arrived on the scene of the accident promptly and did their best to save her. Once Liz was hit by a car while out running, I was dismayed to arrive at the scene to see the Air Ambulance rapid response car there as I knew it was a bad omen, however although they were unable to save Liz's life, they managed to keep her stable and in no pain until her family were able to arrive from hundreds of miles away to see her before she died. Thus I decided I would run another half marathon, the Dirt Half Challenge (www.dirtrunning.co.uk), and continue to raise money for a good cause in Liz and Chelsea's names.

To find out more about the vital work done by London's Air Ambulance and its team of rapid response cars, please visit http://www.londonsairambulance.com

Any donations would be greatly appreciated however small.

Thank you so much,

Josh