I’m excited, scared and proud to share that in October I will be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in memory of my good friend Robbie and will be raising money for a charity he was close to, Over The Wall.

As many of you will know, I am absolutely not someone who has ever enjoyed or been good at running, so when Fran asked if I would take part, my immediate response was to laugh and say “sorry, there’s no way I’m capable of that”. This conversation took place back in February when a group of us shared some chocolate cake and champagne marking Robbie’s first birthday since his passing. We chatted and reminisced about lots of things, but mainly about how throughout our entire friendship Robbie had largely breezed over the severity of his physical health and instead managed to keep-up with everything that every able-bodied person around him was doing. Saying that he “kept up” is doing him a disservice; he was constantly better than me at many things, and I know he would be thrilled to see me declare that on social media.

In fact, just 12 days before I received the news that he had been taken from us so suddenly, we had been messaging about our jobs and careers. I was by myself in South America and had recently found out that a job I worked for months to get had fallen through. Robbie was in Canada and pretty much the only person I knew on my time zone. He had re-assured me that everything would be ok. I knew Robbie’s advice was reliably good, and honest, and it truly brought me some peace.

My point is that, upon reviewing my initial answer for Fran, I realised that it should have in fact been a Yes. Robbie’s legacy is to fly in the face of limiting beliefs and expectations to achieve more than you imagined for yourself. Running a half marathon is hardly a comparison to what he achieved, but in the spirit of Being More Robbie I signed up and began training. I often listen to the soundtracks of our favourite musicals whilst I am running such as Hamilton, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and feel good that I am doing something difficult to raise money for a worthy cause.

With that said, if you would like to donate anything at all to Over The Wall, I would be so grateful and I know Robbie would be too. If you are not in a position to donate I completely understand, and any kind of support and encouragement are equally appreciated. Over The Wall is an incredible charity, and you can find more information about their work below and their website: https://www.otw.org.uk/

Thanks for reading, wish me luck!

Group Statement:

Over The Wall is a UK based charity for children and young people with health challenges and disabilities to discover a world of mischief and magic. We provide a safe place to step outside of comfort zones, establish friendships and build confidence through meaningful and exciting activities.

These amazing experiences are in-person at Residential camp, through our Outreach services and also available online with Camp in the Cloud and Camp 365. And what’s more, it’s all free!

'Team Robbie' consists of 9 runners, friends and family of Robbie:

Fran, Sophie, Lottie, Alessandra, Katie, Dave, JP, Jack & Jake

Robbie passed away at in April 2023 aged 27. We have come together to #BeMoreRobbie in carrying out his wishes to support the work of his favourite charity.

Robbie loved Over the Wall, attended Camp from the age of 9, first as a Camper, and later as a Volunteer. Latterly he was a member of the Operations Committee supporting the work of OTW.

Most of us are not accustomed to running half marathons so this is a serious challenge for us, but reflecting true Robbie-ness, we are determined to succeed. We have a big fund-raising target but every penny helps so please do give generously to this great charity.