Hi, Rich and Mike here.  We are running the 2021 London Marathon to help raise awareness of Heart Failure and funds to help the Pumping Marvellous Foundation support and advocate for heart failure patients.

I (Rich) was diagnosed with heart failure in 2016 after gradually feeling more and more unwell over a period of a few months leading to me becoming extremely breathless and unable to walk more than a few feet.  When I finally visited my GP I was quickly admitted to hospital where I was given the news that my heart was working at around 10% of capacity as opposed to the 60% seen in a normal healthy adult. I was in hospital for 4 weeks receiving excellent care and decided things had to change.

Once out of hospital I made serious changes to my lifestyle including taking up running and completed my first 5K park run in April 2017.   Since then, I have run five 10K races and rediscovered my love of hiking, including a hike up Mount Snowdon in September 2018.

2019 saw me tackle the 192 mile Coast to Coast hike over a two week period as part of a wider challenge to walk or run 1000 miles.  This target was smashed in July and the year saw me top 1500 miles overall.

I had my 50th birthday in 2020 and had various fundraising plans which had to be put on hold due to the restrictions brought in for the  COVID-19 pandemic.

Mike, my brother, has, along with the rest of my family and friends, been a great support.  We have taken part in various runs and also climbed Mount Snowdon together, so when the offer of places on the London Marathon came up there was no way either of us were going to turn it down.  For me, it'll be my first marathon and for Mike, it'll be the one he's always wanted to do.

The core activities and strategy of the Pumping Marvellous Foundation are driven by the needs of heart failure patients, carers and family communities we serve. We get to the real crux of the problems, the problems that patients tell us they have. Our communities are large and we have superb interactions with them, we run the largest Facebook page dedicated to Heart Failure globally so we fully understand the needs and challenges they face. We develop and distribute patient information to the vast majority of NHS Heart Failure Teams in the UK.