“You know, Couch to 100 miles isn’t a thing normal people consider” (my coach, December 25)

Well, evidently, I’m not normal.

On 2 May I’ll be running 100 miles to Oxford. From London. Non stop.

Why? (a common question these days).

19 years ago I became a dad to an amazing daughter. We found out quickly that Anja had complex learning difficulties, and as she grew up, we also discovered that if you’re “different”, there are very few opportunities for extra curricular activities. Somehow, solving this turned into a bit of a mission for me and 10 years ago I found myself establishing This Is Us - an inclusive dance company to help fill the gap.

This Is Us is now 10.

We provide multiple group classes, private classes, outreach to special schools and perform wherever we can.

But more than this, we provide a community. We provide a space to belong. Our dancers provide laughter, happiness, inspiration. They’re amazing.

So to ensure we can continue doing what we do, I decided an apt celebration was a fundraising challenge.

I’m not sure where the 100 mile decision came from (I put it down to a midlife crisis). But here we are.

The reality is that this challenge will be a moment in time. Our dancers deal with challenges every day and they smile and laugh. If I can do something to raise money to support their company, their happy place - then every single step will be worth it. And by my calculations there will be around 200,000 steps. I can’t promise smiles and laughter by the end from me though!

Every donation will make an impact. Thank you for supporting me, but even more, thank you for supporting This Is Us.

Find out more about us here —> https://www.thisisusdance.co.uk