My name is james. I am 35. I don’t really even run. If I do I look like a pregnant giraffe. Not my words but those of more than one.

I have certainly never run a marathon. I have never really wanted to. I have watched friends, family and my wife run them, complete adventure races and raise huge amounts of money for charity and always thought that maybe I ought to at least try and do something similar at least once.

So about 7 weeks ago I found a race I thought I should do. Then I found a charity that I thought might want me to raise money for them. The race is the Marathon Des Sables 2013. The charity is Mencap.

I had a brief medical with my GP who told me it couldn’t be done. Not by me of course but generally. Anyway she gave me the GMC stamp and said it was for charity, wished me luck and sent me on my way. She did say that she would like to know how i got on. My wife disagreed with the GP and said of course it could. Naturally I dismissed the former as a nutter and agreed with the latter.

I entered, paid a deposit and 3 days ago my place was confirmed. The event is approximately 160 miles long and lasts a week. As the name suggests it is in the sand. ‘A sandy marathon?’ my brother asked. Yes. In the sahara. He didn’t think it was very impressive. He works in a bank.

Now all I have to do is train and see if I can actually run.