Crohn's & Colitis UK are the UK's leading charity for Crohn's and Colitis. Right now, over 500,000 people in the UK are living with a lifelong disease that many people have never heard of. I am running to support Crohn's & Colitis UK, and your donation can help Crohn's & Colitis UK's mission to improve diagnosis and treatment; to fund research and raise awareness.

In November 2020, our daughter Jessica became unwell and was diagnosed a month later with Crohn's disease. This diagnosis came completely out of the blue, there were no real signs or symptoms and no family history. She was 15yrs old at the time and we were in the middle of a pandemic!

The initial treatment was liquid diet and regular infusions of biologic medicine to dampen down her inflammatory response. Unfortunately, Jessica was unable to tolerate the liquid feeds so agreed to have a nasogastic tube inserted. She had periods of being well and then became unwell again, often without warning. Eventually, it was decided that surgery was the best treatment option and in August 2022, shortly after her 17th birthday, she had a bowel resection to remove 30cms of bowel.

We are extremely grateful to the amazing team at St George's Hospital. The Paediatric Gastroenterology and Surgical team, Jungle Ward and Nicholls Ward have all been amazing and we are eternally grateful.

The strength, courage and bravery Jessica has shown throughout this period of her life has filled me with pride and admiration. Running the Brighton Marathon to raise money for Crohn's is nothing compared to what she has had to endure. 

Please help me raise lots of money for Crohn's and Colitis UK so that one day a cure can be found for this lifelong disease. Instead of cards and presents for my 50th please make a donation ❤️❤️❤️ xxxx