Why this challenge?

At first I knew I wanted to do something, but wasn't quite sure what. It was easy to rule some ideas out pretty quickly.

No marathons: I can't run. Seriously. I'm such a stumbler, I'd spend more time falling over than running.

Nothing requiring too much kit: I've always wanted to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats, but I don't have a bike right now (last one got nicked) and I wouldn't have anywhere safe to keep it if I did (see previous point). Dad was a keen cyclist, so this would have been great, but it's shelved for now.

Nothing I know for certain I can already do: I would have loved to do a skydive, but it didn't feel quite right to be raising money for something I've already done. I wanted a challenge.

And this seems to be the right sort of challenge for me. On the one hand, I'm certain I can finish it on account of my stubbornness. On the other, there's the nagging doubt that I might not quite manage it. The distance is scary. Twenty-four hours on my feet without sleep is scary. But the thought of failing is scarier.

Why this walk?
No reason more than I live in London and that I've walked a few of them. The symmetry of 78 miles on Dad's '78th birthday' is a coincidence I didn't notice until I wrote my first blog post here.

Why now?
It's coming up for 4 years since dad died and I always meant to do something for a charity that would help people like him. A year to plan for something like this seems just about right, and the 5th anniversary also seems right.

What now?
Well, now I've got a year of planning and fierce training. I've got to go from an occasional walker to a serious walker, and I've got to do it pretty swiftly. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous of this.