28.4.10

JOB DONE! I finished in 3 hours & 52 mins, which is a bit slower than I had hoped but much better than I feared at various points during the race. Thanks to everybody for your support. Full report to follow.

1.3.10

Well, quite… what on earth is an asthmatic 49 year old actor doing running the London Marathon? Am I stark staring mad?

To be fair, I have been running for a while and have run half marathons and even a sixteen mile race, but frankly if you'd told me I still had another ten miles to run after that I think I'd have shot myself.

However, this year marks the 15 anniversary of the birth of our first son Cameron and it seemed like a good idea to celebrate it in a positive way. Cameron was a Down’s Syndrome baby. He was a sunny, golden and much loved little boy but contracted an infection and died in the Brompton Hospital in February 1996. Throughout his short life we were supported by the very wonderful Down’s Syndrome Association, which continues to provide unstinting support to people with Down’s Syndrome and their families. Of course, it’s as important not to generalise about people with Down’s Syndrome as about anyone else but, without exception, all we have been privileged to meet have been extraordinary people of great courage and charm, who spread warmth around them and bring out the best in others. Certainly that was true of Cameron in the brief time he was with us. But their lives, and those of their families, are full of challenges and the need for ongoing support is acute in order to allow them to live their lives to the fullness of their potential, and to assist their families in making this possible.

Any donation you are able to make, however large or small, would be very welcome and would enable us to support the important work done by the DSA. Thank you very much in advance, and I promise I will try to drag myself over the finish line one way or another (and then not to do it ever again)...

Chris (+ Fenella, Georgia and Clara)

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