Many of you might remember the last time I appeared on JustGiving - the London Marathon 2010. I thought that was bad and swore I would never do another marathon - which I'm not. Instead I am doing something which will probably take 40-something days, not 4 hours-something, involves rowing, which I am almost as bad at as running, and along the course of which I will have no cheering supporters at all. WHY??!!

Believe me, I am asking myself the same question. Fortunately I keep coming back to the same answer - I really want to raise loads of money to help breast cancer prevention - this time in the guise of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Doing the Atlantic row seems to be the most extreme way to punish myself into earning your sponsorship. See www.breakthroughatlantic.com for more.

Ellen (my wife, and mother of my wayward kids) was unfortunate enough to have had breast cancer, but fortunate enough to have come out of it fit and well, albeit after a long physical recovery and a longer mental one. We know, and I guess in many cases you know, people who have been less lucky in their experience with the disease. This is for Ellen and for them. But mainly its because I don't want this to be something that I see my daughter go through, or any of our family or our friends, if it can be helped.

So, if you can, do what it says on the 'tin' - please give us a little of your money (or a lot).

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.