Dear friends,

Sport and exercise are not my thing, especially anything competitive. I did the bare minimum at school including a bit of rowing but that was only because it meant I got to leave school grounds once a week. For years I hid in various bathrooms and wardrobes in school dormitories in an attempt to skip PE. My father took me skiing for the first time when I was 10 and I had a tantrum at the end of the week, refusing to do the end of ski school race.
In summary the extent of my exercise regime during my adult life has entailed some pretty intense clubbing during my student years, skiing for a week/year and daily dog walking. For the last 8 years I have done an exercise class once a week with a trainer in an attempt to manage my failing back. That's about it and gives you an insight into my relationship with sport and exercise!

Having a triathlete for a husband is therefore a challenge and until now I have managed to get away with just being a spectator and supporter from the sidelines. However, it has got to that stage where I've gritted my teeth, clenched my fists and decided if I can't beat him I'll just have to join him, so I've been doing some jogging with the dogs and on December 5th, at the age of almost 48, I will be doing my first ever sporting event - a 4K trail run. Now that won't sound like much to most people but for me it's huge and very scary - a real challenge.

You all know that I have chosen to dedicate my life to nature conservation so I don't need to bang on about that. You probably also know that I have been diving for 25 years and that I am at my happiest when I'm sharing space with marine wildlife whether it be giants such as sharks, whales and mantas or the wonder of the little things like nudibranchs, seahorses and frogfish.

I will find it easier to get around the race course if I know that I am raising money for marine conservation, particularly sharks.

Thank you for reading this and please consider supporting the Shark Trust, and me, by giving a little towards my target.

Jules x Jules Melin-Stubbs