Please see Barry's story below.

I will be running alongside Barry on the final half marathon in aid of Epilepsy Action - an amazing achievement!

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On Thursday 14th September 2023, my sister, Abbie, suffered an epileptic seizure, having only been formally diagnosed with the disease 6 weeks earlier. The seizure was so severe, it sent her in to cardiac arrest.

Although paramedics arrived promptly and despite the best efforts of the doctors, nurses and support staff over the next few days, the worst possible conclusion was reached on Sunday 17th September, when doctors informed us that Abbie could not be saved - she passed away that evening, 3 months before her 30th birthday.

The current statistics for the UK show that on average, 3 people die from epilepsy per day, and a much larger number suffer the effects and live with the disease every day - some 600,000.

Speaking personally, losing my sister has been the worst experience of my life and every day since has been emotionally painful - so why not add a little physical pain to that, in honour of Abbie, so that she wasn’t just “one of the three” on the 17th September? I want her passing to mean something; to help make a difference, not only by raising money to go towards research, but also to raise awareness of how serious this illness is.

I am aiming to run 27 half marathons, one for every minute that Abbie was without oxygen to her brain, whilst the paramedics tried to revive her.

The majority of these runs will be at organised events around London, the first of which will be on Sunday 14th April at Crystal Palace, but some will be solo runs in various settings.