On 21 April 2024, I will be running the London Marathon in aid of the PDSA. I decided to apply for a charity place after our beloved dog, Coopers, passed away in April 2023. During that awful time, we spent a lot of time at the vets. They did everything they could for Coopers and were so kind and understanding. However, not only was my heart broken for what we were going through, I couldn’t help also thinking of pet owners who may be struggling with vets bills if their pet falls ill. We were lucky to still have pet insurance - something that becomes less viable with an older dog.

I am therefore running the marathon to raise money for the PDSA, a charity that has been taking care of pets in need for over 100 years. The PDSA has 48 pet hospitals and improves pets’ lives through prevention, education and treatment. Every year the PDSA’s veterinary teams carry out 2.7 million treatments on 470,000 pets in need. The PDSA believes that every pet deserves to lead a happy and healthy life and that everyone has the right to experience the love and companionship of a pet.

On the day of the London marathon 2024, it will be almost a year to the day that Coopers passed away. Through all the tough weeks of training, as well as during the race itself, I will be thinking of our beautiful girl, taken from us far too soon. But I will also be proud that I am doing something positive and raising money for such a good cause, which will help people and their pets.

If anyone is able to help me with my fundraising, I would be so grateful. Every little truly does help.

P.S. To make things that little bit harder, 5 weeks after the marathon, I will also be running the Classic Quarter - 44 miles of trail running along the Cornish coast - after having deferred my race entry from this year when training came to a halt when Coopers became ill. So a mere 70 miles of racing to train for…