In the photo above, taken on 14th May 2011, I am standing outside the School of Cancer Sciences in Birmingham with a very close friend, the artist Sheilagh Jevons. We were attending an open day, organised by the blood cancer charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, which at the time had provided £21.2 million over 10 years for research in Birmingham into improved treatments for blood cancer. A month earlier, I had made a contribution of £2,100 to this sum, sponsorship money I had raised by running an ultramarathon from Worcester to Birmingham (31 miles off-road in 4h 23m - see www.justgiving.com/marksmee2 for the full story).

Sheilagh and her husband Tony were vigorously healthy, active people when Tony was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2007. Having beaten this, and the liver cancer which followed in 2008, he and Sheilagh received the devastating news that an inoperable tumour had appeared on his spine in December 2009. Incredibly, within a month, Sheilagh herself became ill and was rushed to hospital with an acute form of leukaemia, which required a four month stay in virtual isolation and weeks of intense chemotherapy. She just survived and gradually recovered, but Tony finally lost his long battle with cancer in August 2011.

You might think that Sheilagh had suffered enough misfortune by this time, but three years later she became one of a tiny minority of patients whose treatment causes them to develop another form of leukaemia. In her 60s and with so much left to achieve in her wonderful life, she died in Severn Hospice two weeks ago on Monday 16th March.

I’m currently a pale shadow of the runner I was in 2011. Having signed up for the Brighton Marathon months ago, I had abandoned the foolish idea of attempting it as repeated injuries led to weeks of layoffs. But Sheilagh’s latest illness and tragic end have made me feel more acutely than ever the importance of raising money for research into treatments for leukaemia. So I’ve kicked my 60+ units of alcohol a week habit (zero since 23rd Jan), sought professional help with my running and, in two weeks’ time, will have a crack at Brighton. And I’m counting on you to sponsor me.

Here are some important facts:

- Around 28,500 people, from babies to grandparents, are diagnosed with blood cancer every year in the UK, and acute forms of leukaemia are rapidly fatal without effective treatment.

- For leukaemia patients in general, 1-year survival rates have almost doubled since the early 1970s; 5-year survival rates have almost tripled; and around a third of patients now survive beyond 10 years, compared to less than 10% in the early 1970s.

- All the improvements in survival rates are the result of continuing research and development into means of treating and mitigating the effects of blood cancers.

The chemo that Sheilagh received gave her several more years of life, but it blighted months of it and eventually killed her. I want to help scientists and doctors develop better treatments and save even more lives in the future. Please help me by sponsoring my Brighton Marathon run.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

With thanks for your support and very best wishes,

Mark