In August last year, our dearest friends Katy & Martin suffered a tragedy that I can't even begin to imagine nor explain.

Their baby girl Alma passed away during delivery. A happy, healthy girl taken from them due to Shoulder Dystocia, a rare occurrence of obstructed labour.

I'm running the Brighton Half Marathon in honour of Alma and her family, and for all families impacted by the loss of their child during delivery. 

The Haven Centre is a charity that provides support to parents during the difficult times they face after losing their baby. The support provided by Haven is so important to help mothers and fathers deal with their grief, to make sense of what has happened and begin the long road to recovery.

You will notice a different charity name on this page though so a little explanation below.

The Brighton Half Marathon's partner charity is The Sussex Beacon, which provides specialist care and support for people living with HIV through inpatient and outpatient services. 

This wonderful charity provides critical care and support to families all over the region and without them, families would not receive the support they need.

As the public entry spaces for the Marathon were full, I've signed up as a 'team' with the proviso I would raise donations for The Sussex Beacon.

As such, and in order to make sure funds are raised for both The Sussex Beacon and in Alma's memory, all donations through this page will go to The Sussex Beacon and then through my family's company, Motor Data Solutions, we will match those donations pound for pound and donate that amount towards The Haven Centre. So the more you give the more MDS will give too! It's win win for two worthwhile causes.

I run relatively frequently but have never attempted anything more than a 10km distance (I like to stick to 5kms really) so in preparation I'll be upping my game with more 10-20km runs and a practice Half Marathon as well. You can follow my preparation on Strava (my username is Marc Witham) and I'll upload the occasional update on this page too.

Anything you can donate would be amazing and much appreciated.

Lots of love to you all.x