As most of you will know (and be bored of hearing about by now) this year’s Challenge Dave (and the toughest one yet) is to run the 100km Race to the Stones, over 13th-14th July. I've trained hard but this one is definitely going to hurt....!

I have decided to use it as an opportunity to raise some money to help a good friend’s family member fight leukaemia. In June 2018 when only 22 months old, Esme Handley was diagnosed with high risk acute myeloid leukaemia.

She has spent five months as an in-patient at the Royal Marsden, Sutton and received a stem cell transplant in September 2018 after three rounds of intense chemotherapy.
After six months of steady recovery, in April 2019 the leukaemia was found to have returned to Esme's bone marrow. Esme’s family and friends are now fundraising to source a second transplant that will in all likelihood need to happen outside of the NHS, who can typically only offer second transplants to patients twelve months on from their first. Due to the aggressive nature of her disease Esme simply may not have that long…

To find out more about Esme:

https://www.esmelionheart.org/

Any funds not used to help Esme with her treatment will be donated to the The Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group