This is my first blog. Ever!

Why bother? Mainly, it's to help my running gather some momentum, and to garner interest in my running exploits.

The idea for these things is to document my efforts, exertions and stories from the variety of challenges I'm doing in 2010.  Those challenges (so far) are:

Worthing Lido '4' - 31st January 2010 (4 miles)

Brighton Half Marathon - 21st February 2010 (13.1 miles)

Eastbourne Half Marathon - 7th March 2010 (13.1 miles)

The Jurassic Challenge Ultra Marathon - 26/27/28 March (78.6 miles)

Brighton Marathon - 18th April 2010 (26.2 miles)

Bognor Regis 10k -  16th May 2010 (6(ish) miles

However, add to those at least three more marathons, at least one duathlon (run bike run) and some long bike rides and the summer, and I'm in for a pounding!

The big event this year is the Jurassic Challenge - which, frankly, I'm an idiot for doing. Information here. It's three marathons in three days over the jurassic coast, which is notoriously hilly, is on rough terrain and is scaring the bejezus out of me.

So why am I going to do it? Two simple reasons, really. One is that I need personal challenges, and the other is charity. I did the London marathon last year, which was an amazing experience. I decided to do it, despite always saying I was never interested in running a marathon, because I was inspired by my girlfriend (now fiance!) Amy, and raising money for a charity very close to our hearts - Breakthrough Breast Cancer. I was running in memory of her mum who passed away waaaaaaaay too early in life. To complicate things further, I had reconstructive surgery on an old rugby injury during the October prior to the marathon. I wasn't able to start training until final week in February of that year. The marathon was on 26th April - so I had seven weeks to train. SEVEN!!! The only way I was going to finish was by raising money and taking encouragement from others!

So this year, I decided to push it one step further. I'm not focusing on one event - I want to do a series of them. I need that same charity fund raising input, because without it, my interest would fade out. This year, it's two charities. One is Help for Heroes. Agree with the war or not, the troops that are injured and come back to the UK need help. I have friends in the forces - and they're amazing people. I take pride in knowing them.

The other charity is Survivors of Bereavenemt by Suicide. My dad passed away a little over six years ago. He committed suicide during my Freshers' Week (not related) and it changed my experience of university and of life. It changed my family dynamics and it changed me. I gave up exercising, I was forced to retire from playing rugby because of a shoulder injury in the weeks following his death, and my love for sport went. It took me a year to start playing sport again - like Forrest Gump, I started running. Anyway, dad died, so I decided to raise money for a charity that helps those who are left behind as a result of suicide.

Promise: future blogs will be more interesting and much more light hearted. I'll tell you how I trod in dog shit last night as I ran home from work, how Someone informed me that I was singing along to my MP3 player when I was in the gym a couple of weeks ago and also how I have a weird tendency towards symmetry - my socks must be at the same level and I have to repeat the same motions on both sides of my body. I'll also tell you how the running is affecting me.

That is, of course, if people actually bother reading this. If you would like to sponsor either of my causes, you can find them at:

Help For Heroes: www.justgiving.com/kevin-betts

SOBS: www.justgiving.com/kevin-betts2