Rob was diagnosed with melanoma late February 2012. An intense 11 months followed of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, more surgery and a new type of immunology treatment called ipilimumab. Rob took on everything with such braveness and strength and fought so hard until the very end - January 2013, Age 34. He leaves behind two young children and a loving wife. We will miss him forever more, but if something good can come out of such a wonderful man's death, please let it be research into finding a cure for melanoma.

Running a marathon in honour of such a great guy is a real privilege for me and I will carry a part of him with me for every step. If it doesn't hurt me I won't be doing it properly, so the idea is to run it rather than jog round, I will be aiming to complete the course in less than 3 hours (3:15 at worse). Rob gave me a lot of stick about getting too skinny and my streamlined haircut so now it's time to put it to good use!

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, it spreads fast and knows no boundaries. It is the UK's fastest growing cancer with around 12,000 new cases every year - a fourfold increase since the 1970s. It is the most common form of cancer in young adults. That is why intense research is needed into finding a cure for this cancer.

Please donate whatever you can afford and hopefully we can make some good come out of the tragic loss of a fantastic guy.

I thank you very much for your support.