I’m super excited to be running the London Marathon 2025 in aid of Hospiscare!

Hospiscare is a local charity, caring for terminally ill patients and their families across Exeter, Mid and East Devon. Their teams of doctors and nurses offer specialist palliative care, to ensure that patients can make the most of the time they have left. It’s a charity close to my heart.

Sadly, in June 2023 I lost a good friend, Simon Marshall to oesophageal cancer 14 months after diagnosis. In Simon’s last few weeks he and his family received excellent care and support from Hospiscare.

Libby, Simon’s wife, ran the London Marathon 2024 and I’m looking to continue that journey in honour of Simon. Running was a key part of our friendship. It started over lockdown in 2020 - Simon and I would be childishly competitive running the same routes and trying to better each other’s times over certain segments on Strava. Simon would invariably win - but I think I managed to hold on to a certain segment through Exminster…

We ran the Green Lantern together in 2021 and were due to run the Great West Run together in 2022 but Simon was diagnosed 3 weeks prior.

As a GP I also witness the invaluable work that Hospiscare do. They are desperately short of funds and may be forced to reduce some its services. Just 18% of its costs come from government funding- the rest from charitable donations. Hospiscare are a vital part of the local healthcare system and I want to help ensure Hospiscare can continue to be there for the community now and in the future.

So dig deep folks. Please give what you can for a fantastic cause!