Sometimes I train for the simple pleasures it brings - sweat stinging the eyes on a summer afternoon, lungs labouring as the legs run me out of the comfort zone, the sheer satisfaction of a shower washing away the exertion. Some other times I need a target to pull me through the routine that regular training becomes, such as Lifecycle in 2008 or the Madonie trail mountain marathon in 2011.

I've now set my sights on next year's challenge. Put in figures it reads: 0 - 3000 / 42.195. In words, that's running a full marathon which starts at sea level and finishes at an altitude of 3000 metres. Reading between the lines (and if my math is correct), there's an average gradient of 7% for each and every one of those 42 kilometres.

The location is Mount Etna. The date is 16 June 2012.  The time is 08oohrs. The aim is to keep going up unless the volcano brings me down ... to my knees in submission. In answer to the question, 'why this event?', it's because living on an island of mere hills, I cannot even begin to imagine a non-stop climb of that magnitude.

The purpose of adding a new page (click tab at top right) to my website is two-fold. Making my commitment public should help me through (inevitable) phases when enthusiasm begins to flag - the 'I don't want to lose face' motivating principle. Also, I wish to share my preparation for the event should anyone else think of doing it, be it in 2012 or future years. To this end I'll be logging weekly updates, with Monday being the target publication day.