Most of you are aware that we lost our amazing Mum Norah in July 2019. The pain of losing her was like nothing I can describe. It was like the world being pulled from under our feet. 

Mum was first diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis in 2012. It's a rare a quite cruel lung disease that can progress very swiftly and takes the lives of 50% of sufferers  in just 2-3 years . Aside from Mum's positive mental attitude, she responded well to medication and we were blessed to have her for 7 more years. Along with my sisters we were with her in her final moments. I held her hand and she took her last breath. 

In her final weeks Mum was in the Whittington Hospital. During this time we would all visit daily. I had a Spartan race arranged for the Saturday before she passed away. I was going to cancel it but Mum insisted I don't and made me promise her to "smash it". I ran my race and returned straight to the hospital covered in mud. She was so proud of the medal I won. She took off her oxygen mask to put it over her head and kept it there. 

So in Mum's memory I'm not running one race, I'm running SEVEN. One to mark each year we were blessed to have her as she bravely fought against the odds since her diagnosis.

For those unaware, a Spartan race is an obstacle course race of various distances and terrain along with numerous exhausting obstacles and challenges. 

List of races:

2021 - Four races completed.

July 24th : Spartan Super - 10km + 25 obstacles 🏅

July 25th : Spartan Sprint - 5km + 20 obstacles 🏅

May 7th 2022 - Spartan Beast - 21km + 30 obstacles (West London) 🏅

May 8th 2022 - Spartan Sprint - 5km + 20 obstacles (West London) 🏅

June 11th 2022 - Spartan Ultra - 50km + 60 obstacles (Wales) 🏅

Next race...

July 16th 2022 - Spartan Beast - 21km + 30 obstacles (Midlands)

July 17th 2022 - Spartan Sprint - 5km + 20 obstacles (Midlands)

September 10th 2022 - Half Marathon - Battersea

I'm not gonna lie. This challenge is kinda mental but I hope to raise as much as possible for the charity and of course in memory of Mum. 

Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis (APF) is a growing community of patients, families, researchers and healthcare professionals striving to find a cure for pulmonary fibrosis so that everyone affected by the disease has a better future. We provide personalised support to patient and families - and raise awareness of pulmonary fibrosis through campaigning, fundraising and education. We are also committed to funding research to improve the quality of life for people living with pulmonary fibrosis today and tomorrow.

Thank you for reading my story. Please give whatever you can. No matter how big or small it really is very much appreciated. 

Much love

John x