On 21st April 2024 I’ll be running the London Marathon for three reasons:

Two amazing charities and one amazing man.

Our wonderful Paul Mardlin aka Choc was taken from us very suddenly on 22nd June 2023 in a devastating car accident. He was an amazing man: father to Poppy and Tilly, husband to Sami, a friend loved by many, and an uncle figure to me and my sisters. He was just 56. He is missed more than words can possibly express. His death makes no sense at all but in an effort to attempt to bring some good out of the most awful situation, and show his girls that even though he’s no longer with us he lives on in the people whose lives he touched I will putting myself so far out of my comfort zone and running the London Marathon in his memory while raising money for two incredible charities in his name. Choc was a keen runner, and it was on his bucket list to one day run the London Marathon, something he sadly never got to tick off. I truly believe that he had a hand in me doing this as having unsuccessfully applied for a ballot place in the London Marathon for over a decade, I received an email saying I got in just two weeks after he died while I was with his family.

I’m raising money for two charities that are important to me:

Little Hearts Matter was Choc’s chosen charity, and, therefore, now mine! He raised thousands of pounds for them by organising events. Lucia, the daughter of our mutual family friends is one of only a handful of children in a million to be born with half a working heart, known as Double Inlet Left Ventrical. Lucia has already had three open- heart surgeries, the first when she was just eight weeks old, and she may one day need a heart transplant. Little Hearts Matter has been there for Lucia and her family from the moment her parents Fiona and James found out about Lucia’s condition at their 20-week scan. The charity has helped to connect them with other families going through the same thing and has meant that Lucia has been able to meet children who are just like her. The charity has also made sure that Fiona and James have all the information they need thanks to the incredible staff who are absolute experts in their field. This has been so reassuring for the family at the scariest of times.

Breast Cancer Now is the most fabulous charity I’ve had the honour of working at for many years. I’ve made lifelong friends through my work who have been impacted by breast cancer and I’m beyond fed up with watching people die from this awful disease. One of my earliest memories was a very close friend of my parents dying of breast cancer at the age of 36, leaving two little boys who were the same age as me and my sister without a mother. Although treatments and survival rates have improved since the 1990’s there are still far too many deaths. Breast cancer is by no means a done deal. Every year around 11,500 women and 85 men die from breast cancer in the UK- that’s nearly 1,000 deaths each month, 31 each day or one every 45 minutes. Combining the power of research and support we will get to the point in 2050 where everyone who develops breast cancer will live, and be supported to live well. But we can only achieve this if we act now and have the support to do so.

Anyone who has ever known me will know I am not a runner. Most people laughed when I told them I had a place in the London Marathon. Running does not come naturally to me at all and this will be without a doubt be the biggest challenge of my life. I’m not exaggerating when I say that on the day I got my place I couldn’t even run to the end of my garden and I’m actually not sure I would have ran if I was being chased. I have a very long journey ahead of me which will take a lot of dedication and sacrifices, the only thing that will make it all worthwhile is if I can raise lots of money for Breast Cancer Now and Little Hearts Matter in Choc’s name.

Please give what you can, it will make a huge difference to Little Hearts Matter and Breast Cancer Now. I would love it if you could split your donation across both charities, but of course if you have a preference for one of the charities your gift will still be very much appreciated.

Thank you so much #DoingItForChoc