Every year more than 103,000 children and young people experience the warmth of Evelina London, which is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. In April this year I will be running the London Marathon to raise money for the Evelina, as a thank you for the incredible care given to Bertie when he had his Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) and VSD operation in the Evelina in April 2020.

Throughout the weeks when we were in the hospital the staff were truly incredible during a very difficult time for us and also in uncertain times for the staff right at the start of the COVID pandemic. From Bertie's life saving heart surgery, down to the little touches from the nurses and porters, all the staff were always on hand to go above and beyond to make our stay as comfortable as possible. This was especially reassuring during the pandemic when only one parent could be at Bertie’s bedside at any one time.

I want to fundraise as a thank you and to help them in any way so they continue to deliver such a fantastic service for other children and their families in the future.

This will now be my sixth marathon in three years and I will be aiming for a personal best time (3 hrs 28 mins) to add an extra challenge and extra motivation during those cold winter training sessions. As part of this I will be adding an extra £1 to the fundraising pot for every second in which I finish over the 3hrs 25 minute mark. 

Any donation is hugely appreciated and will help the Evelina London continue their excellent life saving work