Why am I driven to support Spinal Research? In 2002 I was injured playing rugby. The temporary paralysis I suffered for those few long minutes was enough to change my entire perspective on life. The realisation of how much worse it could have been hit me hard; the knowledge that without Spinal Research there would have been little or no hope for me made a deep impact. I quickly realised how lucky I had been and was determined to give something back.
The work that is being done by Spinal Research offers hope to those much less fortunate than myself. Imagine not being able to move a part or all of your body; now imagine how that would feel without any hope.
This is why I am so committed to raising money - to give hope to people less lucky than myself.
Why the Marathon of the Sands? Because I really hate running in the heat! To raise money for Spinal Research I have run 5 London Marathons in the past 5 years. While these have always been a challenge, I wanted to do more. I wanted to raise even more money for Spinal Research and to do that I really wanted to push the boundaries – to give my sponsors even better value for money.
With the Marathon of the Sands my sponsors are paying for my pain. The relatively short term pain I will suffer will help to alleviate the even greater and longer lasting pain of spinal injury sufferers. I am one of the lucky ones – there is a perverse privilege in putting myself through the pain of this gruelling run – after all, at least I have that choice.
