Thank you for stopping by my page, and thank you to those who may have supported me in the past, running half marathons for SMA UK.

This year I'm taking on the challenge of running the London Marathon in aid of Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK. This is exciting and terrifying in equal measure!

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a rare, genetically inherited neuromuscular condition. It causes progressive muscle weakness and loss of movement due to muscle wasting (atrophy). This may affect crawling and walking ability, arm, hand, head and neck movement, breathing and swallowing, and the worst types can limit a child's life expectancy to only a few months or years.

The lovely Lily in the photo was diagnosed with SMA Type 2 as a toddler, when she didn’t start to walk. Lily is a little ray of sunshine: she loves dinosaurs, her favourite colour is orange and she loves to spend her weekends zipping around Birdworld in Goldie, her power wheelchair. SMA UK have given so much support to Lily and her family, from research into treatment to information on how to access funding for wheelchairs, adapted vehicles and other needs for them as they live with the condition.

Established for over 30 years, SMA UK are a charity that supports, campaigns and advocates so that everyone affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy can access the best care, services and treatments, and benefit from continued research. They offer adults, young people, parents, relatives and friends emotional support, practical advice and guidance from their experienced team and provide reliable health and social care information about SMA. They also provide and distribute free multisensory toy packs for infants who are diagnosed with SMA.

Running my first marathon will be a physical and mental challenge, but nothing compared to those faced by families such as Lily's, so this is my way of showing what support I can. Thank you again for your support!