Dear friends, family and colleagues,

Let's get one thing straight, there's nothing fun about running. No, really, there isn't. I don't care if it lengthens your life, and don't bother telling me it 'clears your mind'. Quite frankly, when I run my mind is jam packed with all kinds of frantic thoughts, mostly about the risk of imminent death.

But I've committed myself to a 10k run now in September, so there's no going back. And it's for a good cause, in fact my favourite cause, Age Concern/Help the Aged.

So for those of you who went to school with me, think back to those cold, wet P.E. lessons and my pale, feeble legs, and dig deep. You know it's going to hurt me more than most. As for the rest of my friends, colleagues and family, you'll probably have seen me slowly hobble my emaciated frame from A to B over recent weeks, so you'll also understand my suffering.

Thank you very much for whatever you can give, I know this darn recession hasn't been kind to many of us!

Lots of love,

Paul :)