So I'm Richard, and the first thing to note is that running is not my thing. Therefore doing a half marathon is a seriously big effort for me. 

Running may not be my thing, however hiking is. And I am lucky enough to have spent time hiking in Nepal, through remote communities. In this time I managed to be unlucky enough to develop a blister so large on the pressure point of my foot, a more accurate description of it was a hole in the foot, I literally couldn't walk for 3 days. As a consequence of this, luck changed again, and I was lucky enough to experience the supreme care and hospitality of the kind Nepali villagers and doctor in the remote village I was stranded. Medical supplies were not plentiful and the facilities were pretty rudimentary but their care got me back on my feet in time. The place I was stranded also happened to be in the shadow of the largest mountains you can imagine so that was a very reasonable silver lining.

I fell in love with the country during my time there and could not fail to notice just how remote many villages were, with basic medical facilities and expertise  scattered across great distances and towering peaks and ridges. 

It is for this reason that I want to raise money for Doctors for Nepal, it 
 aims to improve healthcare in rural Nepal by providing scholarships to under-privileged medical and nursing students. They then return to their communities to provide much needed medical care. 

DFN was founded by Dr Kate Yarrow in 2008, after spending a year working in the remotest part of Nepal for the international aid organisation Médecins sans Frontières, she made a promise to a young healthcare worker Lalit, that she would sponsor him to fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor.  DFN currently supports 7 medical and 3 nursing students. Our first student, Lalit, graduated as a doctor in September 2012 and two further students, Meena and Nahakul, completed their training in September 2016.

THE COST OF EACH MEDICAL STUDENT IS IN EXCESS OF £30,000, AND FOR POSTGRADUTE STUDY IN THE CASE OF LALIT IS £40,000, A SUM THAT ONLY THE RICHEST OF FAMILIES CAN AFFORD IN NEPAL.

By supporting Doctors for Nepal, you will be not only be changing the life of one student, but potentially helping to bring medical care to tens of thousands of patients who currently have to walk for days to reach even the most basic of medical care.

It's a pretty damn fabulous cause and any small donation you can spare will be greatly appreciated and will help me run a distance I will in no way be properly prepared to run. 

If you want to learn more here is a link to the website: 

http://www.doctorsfornepal.org/