Every (ahem, most) weeks, several XTX staffers take a break from extending the boundaries of technical trading achievement (and manage to lure ourselves away from our in-house buffet breakfasts & lunches…), to haul their behinds out in all (ahem, most) weathers to run a 10k, just for the joy of it. We wear a trough in the Regent's Canal path, scale Primrose and Parliament Hills, and pound our way around the Heath. Some run faster, some slower, some further and some have been known to rent a bike for the return leg, but we all run together. 

We are excited to take part in the Hackney Half (our local distance race) to raise money for Dravet Syndrome UK, a charity we've supported since XTX's inception. Dravet Syndrome is a devastating condition which affects 1 in 15,000 live births of which my son Arlo is one. He is now 14 and the condition affects every aspect of his life. He has seizures every night and has severe intellectual disability (he functions at the level of a 2 year old). In his early years Arlo was often in and out of hospital, suffering many seizures, some lasting more than two hours.  For most Dravet families we go to bed with the fear that our loved one won't wake from their sleep due to the prevalence of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy. The condition is isolating to live with and frequently bewildering, but DSUK helps to support over 500 families by funding research, providing monitors, raising awareness in the medical community and providing emotional support.