Apologies for the long post but please bear with me!

In April 2025 I will be running the Manchester marathon. Taking part in a marathon is something that has always been on my bucket list, but something I never thought I would ever be capable of doing.

As many of you know, my mum’s partner and Lottie’s grandad Ivan was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer 5 years ago. Ivan fought so hard but unfortunately passed away on 8th March 2025.

Ivan was one of the bravest people I know, and faced this illness with such courage, whilst also grieving the tragic loss of his youngest son Guillaume in 2022. A couple of years ago I set myself the challenge of running a marathon distance across a whole month (that was hard enough 🤣) and raised money for Prostate Cancer UK. Whilst fundraising, Ivan courageously shared his story to raise awareness of the cancer and the symptoms associated with it. Because of this, multiple people went to see their GPs and one was found to have early stage prostate cancer, meaning that it could be cured as it was caught early enough!

Please check out the NHS Prostate Cancer page to make yourself aware of the symptoms, and please don’t ignore something if it doesn’t seem right!

So.. now I feel like it’s time for me to be brave and set myself this challenge, whilst also trying to raise a bit of money for Cancer Research UK. Too many of my friends and family have faced their own personal battles with cancer, and sadly we all know somebody (or are that somebody) that has been directly affected by cancer. I hope that by completing this challenge I can make a small contribution towards beating this disease. I would be so grateful for any donations if anyone can spare some pennies.

This is for you Ivan 💙 we miss you so much already x