Ten Things to do Before You're 40

My name is Stuart Wickham. I'm hurtling towards the Big Four-0 with the speed of a runaway freight train. To be a little more precise, 72 days to go.....

I am now over halfway through my mid-life crisis challenge to run 10 marathons by the time I'm forty and genuinely excited because running 4 marathons in 3 months doesn't sound too bad. If you say it really quickly..

I have questioned my decision to forego the traditional birthday celebration of a typical party and instead spend much of my fortieth year running. After all, parties can be a lot of fun and there isn't too much fun to be had when you're running a marathon and the tank is empty and you still have five or six miles to go. At times like these, I have wondered if cheese and pineapple on sticks in some village hall with a smattering of friends and family might be a better idea!!

Anyway, I have managed to stay focused on the plan to complete the challenge and continue to try and help my chosen charity. The Anthony Nolan Trust enable bone marrow transplants to reclaim lives from leukaemia and other life-threatening illnesses. Follow the links on this site to find out more of what they do and how you can support their work.

I set myself the goal to run 10 marathons before age forty back at the time of my first marathon in 1999. This would have been easy if I hadn't left the running shoes unused for so many years since then. So "Ten Things to do Before You're 40" has become a bit of a last minute challenge with the clock ticking fast...

Running has always been an occasional hobby - often battling work, other distractions and a little apathy. My enthusiasm was only reignited following my late, late participation in 2007 New York Marathon.

Thank you for visiting my site. You can sponsor me online or contact me if you are a business who would like to get involved in any way to help the cause. There is still a little time to join Team Stu to run the Salisbury 5-4-3-2-1 marathon (or shorter run) in support of the challenge. It would be great to have you on the team..

So, the mission in a nutshell.

Find and complete 4 more marathons by October 2008.

Raise some money - hopefully, lots of it - for the Anthony Nolan Trust.

And tell the story.