I am a 22
year-old third-year medical sudent at Imperial
College, London. I
discovered running after a throw-away comment about doing the London
Marathon ‘one of these days’. Since 2004, I have competed in the London Marathon (raising £2250 for the
British Red Cross in the process), the Thames Meander (a 54-mile race
from Reading to London),
and the Marathon des Sables (raising
£900 shared between the British Red Cross and Medecins sans
Frontieres). Apart from competitive running, I cycled from London to Venice in 2004.
By running the
race, I also hope to raise as much money as possible for Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) UK
(registered Charity 1026588).
About the MdS
From 10th
to 16th April 2006, I will be running in the 21st
Marathon des Sables, commonly
known as ‘The World’s Toughest Footrace’. The Marathon des Sables
(MdS) the equivalent of six marathons over seven days, in the Moroccan
Sahara Desert (55°C during the day and 5°C at night) – this
desolate and extreme environment commands the respect of all who pass
through it. It's also largely a self-sufficient race, so competitors
carry all their food and survival equipment throughout the race.
 Why I'm running
Since
running the London Marathon in 2004, I have been interested in
‘ultra-endurance’ sports – just how far can the human body be pushed?
This will be my second MdS – last year I achieved a 224th position out
of 777 competitors from across the world. With a total time of 38 hours
57 minutes. This year my aim is to use my experience to try and better
last year’s result.
How can you Help
I have a great admiration
for the work that Médecins
sans Frontières (MSF) performs, and as a medical student, the best
way for me to get involved with the charity is to raise awareness of
their work, and raise funds for them – it's only sensible that someone
should benefit from my efforts.
Please help me raise funds for MSF, click on the logo to contribute online via
justgiving.com
Since 1971, MSFF has been providing medical relief to
people in distress, victims of natural or man-made disasters, and
victims of armed conflict, regardless of race, religion, creed or
political conviction. In addition, MSF bears witness to the conditions
experienced by the people it cares for, in order to raise awareness of
their plight. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.
MSF currently operates in around 80
countries. In the past year, MSF has been a crucial component
of the aid response to the South Asian tsunami and the South-East Asian
earthquake. The charity has a reputation for not solely following the
media spotlight on world disasters (having responded to the
underpublicised nutritional and medical crisis in southwest Niger),
and also for usually being one of the last charities to pull out in
conflict zones (whilst not compromising the safety of its staff). Its
neutrality has been crucial in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where
the transition from war to peace has been a mere mirage for the
majority of the population, and it is still very active in the Darfur
region of Sudan,
which has gradually faded from the media radar.
MSF is also focuses on the international effort to
stem the world epidemics of TB and HIV/AIDS to name but two diseases
which afflict millions. In Thailand, the focus of MSF’s
works is responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, offering free
antiretroviral (ARV) treatment as part of comprehensive HIV/AIDS
programs - £81 will buy a year’s ARV treatment supply.
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