A bit long, I’m sorry.

October 2019 I was lucky enough to get a London Marathon place in the ballot for the 2020 race. At the time I was running regularly but had never ran beyond 13.1 miles and was in general, a parkrunner who liked to do an occasional shorter organised race/event. Training was going swimmingly and I was even enjoying the long long runs (listening to podcasts mostly). 

Fast forward to spring of 2020, Covid-19 had hit, the marathon cancelled and my priorities completely changed. I struggled to exercise regularly in the first year of the pandemic as work was so busy and I couldn’t find the enthusiasm to get out to run. My marathon place was deferred to 2023 and I hoped that I would be in good shape to get training again. 

I’m enjoying exercise and movement but haven’t run as much as I would have liked in 2022 but I’m ready to face the challenge of running the marathon (I ran/walked the virtual in 2020). I’m going to give it a good go, the aim is to finish rather than complete it in a specific time.

I was never going to fundraise originally, I was quietly going to try complete the marathon and remain firmly under the radar. Things changed in March 2022 when my twin sister, Jess, gave birth to Dylan. She and her husband Paul had had a tricky journey during the pregnancy but Dylan safely arrived - a beautiful baby boy. Unfortunately at only a few days old he was admitted to the neonatal intensive care in Manchester with possible sepsis. He had so many tests, wires and lines inserted. He was given lots of medications while the medical team tried to ascertain the cause of his symptoms. It was a scary few weeks as it was unclear whether he would survive, and if he did survive, whether he would have long term disabilities.

Dylan was diagnosed with viral meningitis and he started to respond to treatment. incredibly, he made a full recovery and was soon transferred out of intensive care and allowed home. He will be 1 in March and he has come so far. 

I am raising money for the Northwest & North Wales Paediatric Transport Service fund at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital because they transported him between hospitals when he was at his sickest. The transport is far from just a form of getting a child from hospital A to hospital B. It is an intensive care on wheels and expert healthcare professionals travelled with Dylan to monitor him for the whole journey.

Please donate what you can, this 26.2 mile run has been a long time in the making and the charity do such a phenomenal job. 

Thank you.