On Sunday 26th August 2018, Mark Hart, friend, devoted father to Megan and Bethany, and fiancee to my dear friend Anna, was taken from this earth whilst jumping off it. He was a highly experienced BASE jumper, ex pro snowboarder, slack liner and climber. Loved by so many and inspirational to other extreme sports lovers. Mark was kind, helpful, fun, adventurous, welcoming and adored by his own children and those of his friends.

Due to the inherent high risk nature of BASE jumping it is impossible to insure yourself for injury or loss of life resulting from it. Mark’s family have set up a fund page which has raised enough to repatriate his body, pay for the funeral, and help with initial expenses.

Looking ahead, it will be a lot harder to afford the luxuries in life, and I feel so strongly that Anna and the girls should not miss out on some of the experiences they would have otherwise had - God knows they will need time away to breathe, reflect, grieve and learn to have fun and enjoy life again. It would have meant a lot to Mark to know his girls weren’t missing out on adventurous activities such as learning to ski, snowboard or climb just because he is gone. I know it will mean a lot to Anna too who is worried she cant give them the same kind of experiences by herself.

That is why just 2 weeks after deciding to withdraw from the Chester marathon - I have changed my mind. No amount of physical pain I may feel from running it will ever come close to the visceral, emotional and physical pain I see my dear friend in now. I cannot take that away, but I want to do what I can to help provide some joy, something to look forward to and a platform for making new memories.

i signed up for this race when I was at my lowest ebb following two major knee reconstructive operations. I set myself a ridiculous goal that in truth my body and knee, even one year down the line are not for. I needed something to work towards and Anna helped me by signing us up for a half marathon in July and running it with me. A foot problem then took me out of running for 6 weeks. That left me with not enough time to prepare, but I tentatively tried a few short runs to see how everything felt. Then this happened. And now I have a whole different reason - three reasons - for running this race. As our good friend Jess said to me the night before the half: ‘If the mind is strong it can drag the body along with it’.