Last winter Saffron Cresswell came for some training. During her stay we spoke about how we both wanted to have a go at running a marathon, and so she persuaded me to enter the ballot for the 2025 London Marathon. In June this year Saffron had a fall at Bramham Horse Trials suffering from a spinal injury. I didn’t get in with the ballot, but saw that Spinal Research had a charity space left. With Saffron’s backing I am now running the marathon to raise funds for Spinal Research. Saffron is a huge inspiration in the way that she has tackled life after her fall and I will be thinking of her strength and determinations during my training.

Spinal Research is the UK’s leading charity funding medical research around the world to develop effective treatments for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. There are an estimated 105,000 in the UK living with an injury.

They receive no government funding and rely entirely on the support of the public to raise funds for our research. Because of the efforts of their supporters, they have funded innovative medical research that has achieved a number of ground breaking changes in the field.