On 28 June 2017 our family changed forever when we suddenly lost my youngest cousin, Michael, to a brain tumour that had been diagnosed less than 3 months earlier.

Michael was a fit and seemingly healthy 27 year old, working hard as an accountant and planning his future with the purchase of his first home.  It's impossible to understand how someone like Michael could have such a serious illness and, like him, I was convinced that he would get the treatment he needed and get better.  Nobody could have known that in such a short space of time we would lose him.  

As I now know, brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 and, whilst survival has doubled across all cancers, the ten year survival rates for brain tumours has improved little for adults in over 40 years at just 13% (one of the poorest of all cancers).   In spite of this, less than 2% of the £500million invested in cancer research in the UK every year is spent on brain tumours.  In an effort to help support The Brain Tumour Charity achieve their aim of defeating brain tumours, I'm hoping to raise as much money as I can by running my first ever marathon. 

Michael was kind, genuine and absolutely hilarious and I will be thinking of him and his cheeky grin for all 26.2 miles. I can't think of a better reason to do something as daft as run a marathon than to do it for such a deserving cause in memory of the most wonderful cousin I could have asked for.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.  It means the world.

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.