I've written my personal link to the British Heart Foundation below. 

My marathon story is two and a half years in the making...

I trained for the London Marathon 2020 that was due to be held in April 2020, reaching a hard 20 miles before COVID19 struck. I then dug deep and kept up my training during lockdown with the hope of running the race in October 2020. Again, that race had to be "cancelled" but opened up a possibility of running it virtually. I completed the virtual London Marathon in October 2020 on the country roads and trails around Cirencester whilst Storm Alex raged around us. It was a memorable day and one I will treasure, but my heart was still set on running through those city streets. Hopefully 2022 is my year.

My dad died at the age of 57, just 7 months before I got married. He was a genuinely great guy, a headteacher of a primary school, a passionate sports teacher, and rugby and golf enthusiast. Not to mention generous to a fault. At the age of 19 he was a medic in the army, about to be sent for his first posting in Hong Kong. However, during his own medical tests a heart problem was identified. The lining encasing his heart had hardened and he had to undergo a massive operation. The cause of the problem wasn't clear but may have been from a childhood illness such as rheumatic fever. This ended his military career but made sure that he certainly was determined to live life to the full, knowing that he "wouldn't make old bones". I couldn't have asked for a better dad. His love of the great outdoors and sport fed mine. Tackling the Lake District fells (and then the Andes!), tackling the cross country mud, tackling the freezing mornings in goal for the hockey team (whilst he fed me polos)! He certainly would be behind me very step of the way with tackling the marathon.

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK. The money raised from your donations will help the BHF to continue to create new treatments and discover new cures. Please give what you can to help me hit my target and help other families continue to live life to the full. Thank you so much xxx