I am running the world-famous London Marathon on Sunday 27th of April 2025 (after deferring from 2024)! 26.2 miles through the city alongside 40,000 fellow athletes!I am running as part of #TeamSight to raise vital funds for life changing medical research and social impact projects: changing the lives of millions of people in the UK affected by sight loss today and in the future. I am running for a future everyone can see!

This charity means a lot to a close friend and therefore I want to support her in running the London Marathon to help raise as much as I can.  There are two million people in the UK currently affected by sight loss and this is set to double by 2050. Sight loss is one of the biggest health challenges we face as a country. #TeamSight's vision is simple 'We believe in a world everyone can see'.

It is an absolute privilege to be able to run the London Marathon for the second time, but even more special to have got my entry via the ballot (14th time lucky).  Despite securing my place through the ballot, I am still determined to raise at least £2,000 for #teamfightforvision as if I had a charity place. It is an absolute honour to be running on behalf of a dear friend and her children. My fundraising could help their future and that makes my efforts even more important. 

Specifically to my friend's children - Choroideremia – sometimes known as choroidal sclerosis, progressive tapetochoroidal dystrophy and TCD - is a rare genetic eye condition that almost always affects males. Symptoms usually start in childhood, with progressive sight loss due to a gradual loss of cells in and around the retina, the specialised light-sensitive layer that lines the back of the eye. This happens as a result of damage to the choroid – the network of blood vessels that supplies the retina with the vital nutrients and oxygen it needs to remain healthy. Choroideremia is estimated to affect between 1 in every 50,000 to 100,000 people in the UK. However, the condition is likely to be underdiagnosed as symptoms are similar to several other eye conditions, such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for choroideremia – but recent advancements in gene therapy research, initially funded by Fight for Sight, are fuelling the development of potential new treatments, providing hope for the future. Gene therapy targets the genes involved in certain conditions, either by replacing faulty genes or adding new ones, in order to cure the condition or help the body fight its effects. A large international trial led by Nightstar Therapeutics (now Biogen Inc), a gene therapy spin-out company established by the University of Oxford and Syncona, is underway – which if successful could result in a gene therapy treatment becoming available for people living with choroideremia. More and more trials are being established and developed to help this condition making my fundraising even more vital.

Please donate whatever you can to this cause.