An Update from Sophie:

Thanks so much to all who have donated so far, your generosity has been hugely appreciated and Mum has smashed her original target!

In an exciting turn of events, I have also now been given the opportunity to fundraise for the ROS and run the London Marathon alongside Mum! Becoming Marathoners together at a race as Iconic as the London Marathon is something we never thought we’d get to do and so are both excited and daunted at the prospect!

Our target has now increased to £2000 per person, taking us to a goal of £4000 in total. Further fundraising events are in the process of being cooked up, but in the meantime any donations anyone is able to make would be amazing, and we’d both be very thankful.

Osteoporosis and related bone disorders are something that are genetically linked. As mum has explained in her story, it’s a condition that has caused a lot of pain in our family, and something I am likely to develop. From what we know at the moment, exercise can massively help improve bone density but further research into these conditions is so important for finding ways to improve bone density and keep people, predominantly women out of hospital and doing what we do best!

Soph and Pip x

I am running the London Marathon 2025 for the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) as osteoporosis is a condition close to my heart.

My mum has severe osteoporosis which has drastically affected her health. In 2017 due to the suffering she was experiencing, I requested a DEXA (bone density) scan to find out whether I was at risk. I had to push hard to get it as I was told I wasn’t a typical case; however, the result gave me a diagnosis of osteopenia (loss of bone density).

As I considered myself fit and well, I was shocked by the diagnosis and as a result altered my lifestyle to try and maintain the bone health I had. I began running with the hope that the microfractures that occur with running would help maintain my bone density. Last year though a further scan informed me that my results had deteriorated, and I am now on treatment. I have been told that the running and the alterations to my diet have probably meant that things are not as bad as they might have been without them. I reached out to the ROS at this time and found them extremely supportive.

I am running for the ROS both to raise money for the charity and to increase an awareness of the condition. By participating in the London Marathon, it is also allowing me to fulfil a dream I did not think was possible.

I really hope you can donate whatever you can towards this worthy cause so that they are able to focus on research but also help the many who are diagnosed (or undiagnosed) and who suffer from it.

Few people in the UK really understand what osteoporosis is. Even fewer understand the true extent of the impact it has on lives; robbing those affected of self-confidence, reducing independence and making everyday activities a challenge.

That's why ROS are driving research for the development of new medications and treatments to beat osteoporosis.

We dream of a future with no more broken bones and no more broken lives. You can help make it a reality by sponsoring me today.