Hi! Thank you for visiting my personal fundraising page. On 25th January 2015, I am going to be pushing myself to the limit and running in my first ever Standard Chartered Half Marathon! For those whom have known me for quite some time, you would certainly agree that me as a runner never ever crossed your mind. But nowadays, "running" may be the first words that pops in your mind when you think about me! I started getting myself into distance running only about a year ago. I would say the turning point occurred a few years back at a friend’s bachelor party, where I found myself exhausted, crawling for oxygen, after a mere 5 minute run! It was then I realized physical exercise is of equal importance as mental brain exercise! Upon my return to Hong Kong, I began to run as a way to improve both my physical and mental fitness! The standard chartered race had always seemed like a distant dream when I was a youth. To imagine that I would be crazy enough to enter in such a race was certainly beyond my imagination. The 10K race was the original goal. But upon completing my first ever 10K race at the UNICEF 10K last year, I realized I yearned for something more challenging: the half marathon! In preparation for this years’ big race, I have given myself a target of competing in at least a race every month leading into Jan. Below are some details: Oct 14- New Balance 10K (0:50) Nov 14- UNICEF Half Marathon (1:48) Dec 14- Brooks Hong Kong 15KM Challenge (1:14) While the times are not amazing by any standard, I hope this displays my determination to excel in my race – I don't plan to walk! In addition, a big motivation for my run this year is I’d like to support the work of Viva. I really like the approach Viva takes with helping vulnerable children as it seeks to inspire lasting change in their lives through the power of collective action. By encouraging and forming networks of churches and community organizations already involved with helping the children, Viva’s reach goes further and is more sustainable in bringing real, lasting change to situations of these children. You can find out more at www.viva.org Through simplygiving.com you can make safe and secure donations to sponsor me. The proceeds of your support are sent directly to Viva. Using this platform is really simple and most importantly it's also a really cost efficient way for the charity to raise funds. My page allows you to follow my progress; share it with friends; voice encouragement or even join me and get involved yourself! I am trying to raise an ambitious target of 10,000 HKD for vulnerable children, and together with a team of over 50 other Viva runners, we are trying to raise half a million HKD. Please dig deep and donate, every little counts! Thank you so much! Ernie Tam