Tell me something, are buttons cute? One of the girls in the office brought in their new baby the other week and I was sat at my desk wondering just what the hell I was going to say when it came my turn to offer some verbal. The first thing that flashed in to my head was 'ahhh, isn't he/she cute as a button?'. And then I thought: 'that's such a bunch of crap'. Seriously, are buttons cute? I mean, yeah, those small ones you get on cardigans can be pretty cute but what about those big brown ones? You know the ones. Normally on ugly raincoats or heavy tweed full-length coats. There's nothing cute about those. So essentially you are hiding your real thoughts behind a deliberate misnomer. I'm saying your baby is cute as a button but I haven't specified the type of button I'm referring to. Should I be referring to those big bastarding, ugly things that belong in some sartorial museum, then I'm being hugely sarcastic.

I digress.

This is a big weekend for me. Tomorrow morning I fly to Paris to compete in the city marathon. 26 miles of gruelling this and that. I don't know why I do it to be honest - part ego, part...actually, it's all ego. I've ran a few half-marathons in Christchurch, New Zealand (2002) and Dublin (2004), and in between I ran the Dublin marathon (2003) in 3h52m. Relatively successful I suppose.

The target on Sunday is ultimately 3h30m but the truth is that it would have to go 100% swimmingly well for that to come off. That's basically my marathon pace with no room for error or exhasution. In 2003 I hit the feckin' wall at 20 miles and took 60mins to do the last 10km. I'm a bit more clued in now and my preperation has been better. September 2003 (the month before the marathon) was a washout last time because I ended up working two (literally) full weekends in work on a big project.

I'm running for the Irish Cancer Society and I'm hoping to rake in a similar amount to the �1200 I raised for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind in 2003. You see? One half of the ego is saying 'hey look I can run for ages and you can't!' and the other half is saying 'hey I'm raising money for charity!'.

But to take myself seriously for a second, while we all extend ourselves to help those suffering after the tsunami in Asia, it's important not to forget those who suffer closer to home. There's always room for one more - you just have to want to move a little and accommodate as much as possible.

I'll bring you up to date when I get back and we might be seeing a similar sight to below. Glad I grew the full beard since. That goatee just wasn't working for me.