On April 24th I will proudly be running the London Marathon in the name of Cancer research UK (CRUK) and I could really use your help to make this a great success!

The cause...
Having studied Natural Sciences (Chemistry) at Imperial College, the charity that inspires me the most is CRUK. It is not just about my intellectual connection to the topic but much more than that..! CRUK is the world's leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research and all the money that I am raising will be directly donated to the Francis Crick Institute (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/support-us/donate/francis-crick-institute).

The Francis Crick Institute is the first research facility aimed at creating a unique environment to encourage both collaboration between scientists and a multi-disciplinary approach to combating the world's deadliest illnesses, including cancer. CRUK are fighting cancer on all fronts, from prevention, to diagnoses, to treatment, and the Francis Crick Institute is a key part of their strategy.

So if you are feeling particularly generous and charitable today and want to be part of something inspiring and meaningful, I please just ask you to take 2 minutes of your busy day to donate whatever you can spare and feel is appropriate for this great cause. And even if everyone donates just £10 (about 4 coffees at Starbucks or a burger), altogether as a team this will go a long way to ensuring more people beat cancer and help those around you. Thank you very much!

The challenge...
After watching one of my best friends running and completing the marathon 12 months ago and supporting him throughout the full race, I felt this incredible energy around the race and knew I should do it as well one day..I had not thought that this day would come so soon however! Nevertheless I could not be more excited and thrilled...!!

I love working out but never felt the inspiration nor the desire to run, especially not long distance..but last summer this changed and I developed a real passion for it. Regardless of my enjoyment it was never a question for me to run the race just for my own but much rather felt the need to raise money for a great cause as is CRUK.

I therefore set myself this challenge last summer and have been training ever since. At first, training was light, with only a few runs a week. Then, last October, I completed my first half marathon (Royal Parks) in London in 1:48hours getting more and more into it...Since the start of 2016, I have stepped up my game (not getting out of balance, despite having been ill in most of Jan and Feb) and ran a total of 450km in the past 10 months.

My main challenge has been to keep up training during winter (critical for the London Marathon), but I remain determined to push myself to the limit and achieve a great time in honour of this charitable cause.

Specifically, my aim is to complete my first marathon in ~4 hours. 4 weeks ahead of marathon day I went on my longest run in training which was just over 20miles/32km in 3 hours. I felt great during the training and initially afterwards but the next day, pain kicked in and I have been out of the game and resting since. After careful consultation with physios and specialists I have decided to not give up and run this race.

Each donation will only push me harder to achieve it and complete this challenge for an inspiring cause. Whether you run or not, every donation counts, makes you be part of this cause and should make you feel as proud as me.

Many thanks for reading thus far and I hope to see you all at the finish line!!! 

David