I proclaim 2011 the year of the marathon - for I shall be running not one, but two marathons in the Spring. On April 17 I will take part in the London Marathon, and then on 22 May I will be running the Edinburgh Marathon..

This will be my first and second marathons. The furthest I've run previously has been the Great North Run half marathon, which many of you have kindly sponsored me for, so 26 miles will be a big challenge. However training has started and I'm confident of getting round in a respectable time - or at least beating those people in the rhino costumes.

I am doing both runs to raise money for the Meningitis Trust. As some of you may know I got meningitis when I was younger, and luckily made a full recovery. At New Year my young nephew also fell seriously ill with meningitis. After several days in hospital and great medical care he seems to be on the mend.

However many people who get it are not so fortunate and suffer serious problems for the rest of their life. The Meningitis Trust does great work in supporting victims and their families, and I look forward to raising as much money as possible for them.

This is your bit - any donation and sponsorship you can offer is massively appreciated by myself and the Trust. And don't forget this is a DOUBLE marathon effort!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.