Thanks for taking the time to visit my page.

On 28th June 2026, I will be cycling La Marmotte Granfondo Alpes, one of the toughest amateur cycling events in the world, climbing more than 5,000 metres through the French Alps in memory of my beautiful daughter Ella, and to raise funds for the charity we founded in her name: the Ella Dawson Foundation.

Covering around 180km and taking in legendary Tour de France climbs including the Galibier and Alpe d’Huez, this year’s route mirrors some of the hardest Alpine stages of the 2026 Tour de France. Riders face extreme climbs, altitude, heat and exhaustion, often spending 8–12 hours on the bike just to finish. Simply completing La Marmotte is considered a huge achievement within the cycling community.

July 11th 2026 marks five years since we lost Ella. This ride is for her.

Ella was just 22 when she was diagnosed with PH+ Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, shortly after graduating from university. She was full of life, full of plans, and had an extraordinary ability to find beauty and purpose in every day, whatever the circumstances.

During two years of relentless treatment, Ella realised something was missing — not in her clinical care, which was exceptional, but in the emotional and wellbeing support available for young adults like her. Young people who were frightened, hopeful, ambitious, and determined not to be defined by cancer.

So Ella did something remarkable. She began creating a wellbeing blueprint — a vision for the emotional, psychological, physical and social support young adults with cancer deserved, but often could not find.

Ella heartbreakingly passed away in July 2021, aged 24. The Ella Dawson Foundation is her legacy, and every young person we support continues the work she began.

“I want to put out there something I was missing, something that young people could relate to in the future, and prove that not all is lost when you have been diagnosed with cancer.”

- Ella Dawson, 2020

Since losing Ella, cycling has become my place to process, to find peace, and to feel closest to her. Taking on La Marmotte will demand everything I have and every mile will be for Ella.

I’ve been training hard for this challenge, recently completing the brutal Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lake District, but I know La Marmotte will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done on a bike.

Yet it is nothing compared to what Ella faced, and nothing compared to what the 4,693 young adults diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year are going through right now.

Since launching the Foundation in 2022, we have supported more than 2,700 young people and their families across the UK, reaching 105 NHS hospitals nationwide. In 2025, 100% of the young people we supported reported improved mental health, while 98% said they felt more like themselves again.

I am aiming to raise £1 for one of the 5181 metres of the Marmotte. Every penny raised goes directly towards helping young adults live well through and beyond cancer, free of charge, when they need it most.

Your donation could help provide:

• £10 - wellbeing journals or support resources

• £25 - a peer wellbeing support session

• £50 - counselling or wellbeing support

• £100 - specialist clinical psychology support

• £250 - a restorative countryside retreat for young people and families

Please donate if you can. Every contribution, however small, makes a real difference to a young person whose world has been turned upside down.

Thank you for helping us continue Ella’s legacy