Just before my younger brother Steve died in 2019 we went away for a couple of days to the seaside where we went as kids. Over dinner he said to me, “‘make sure you do stuff to make the most of life.” Since he died later that year it’s become my mission to do “Stuff”.

So, I decided not long after that I wanted to run the London Marathon, despite being in my late fifties, completely unfit and never running more than 3km continuously in my whole life. I started with a 5km Park Run back in 2019. I coughed and wheezed and walked most of that first one. I was overtaken by people with dogs, people pushing kids in buggies, even a bloke pushing two school age kids in a double buggy. I couldn’t move for about two days afterwards. Five years later, I still get overtaken by people with buggies and dogs on Park Run, but I’ve run 100 of them, done three half marathons and very soon about to finally do the London Marathon, together with my other two brothers and my wife Helen.

We are raising money for Save The Children. If you would like to support and donate to this fabulous charity, to support Team Manders in this doing this “Stuff”, it will be greatly appreciated. And if it encourages you to do “Stuff” too, that would be even better.