Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

After thinking about it for a long time, I have decided to run the Marathon des Sables which I will be doing to raise money for the Eve Appeal. For those unfamiliar with this event, it is a 6 day, self-supported, multi-stage ultramarathon across approximately 250km of the Sahara Desert in 40 degree heat (or hotter!!) - should be a breeze right?! I have run various marathons and completed other sporting challenges previously, but this is by far the toughest challenge I have ever set myself and requires an immense amount of training and preparation. In order to go into this event as prepared as I can I will be also undertaking various ‘training’ events, starting with the South Coast Challenge at the end of August which is a 100km trail run along part of the South Downs Way. This will already be further than I have ever run/covered by foot in a single day so am slightly nervous about it as a starting point! I will also be undertaking other events between now and April to help prepare myself for the brutality of the MdS - I’ll keep you posted as they are decided!

One of the driving factors behind this craziness is my amazing Mum who was diagnosed 4 years ago with stage 4 (incurable) ovarian cancer. She recently lost her battle in July 2019 after a heroic fight showing incredible strength - which I can only hope I have inherited. During her treatment, we discovered she had a BRCA2 mutation which is a hereditary gene mutation that increases the lifetime risk of various cancers, particularly (in females) gynae and breast. In October I found out I also carry this mutation... This was a massive blow and as someone who has worked in the Cancer specialty for over 10 years I am all too aware of the implications this has for me. This is just one of the reasons I am keen to do what I can to improve the diagnosis and management of these genetically-linked cancers. 

The Eve Appeal is a fantastic charity that funds research into risk prediction, early detection and improving screening for all five gynaecological cancers. The importance of this work to me in relation to both my Mum’s late diagnosis and my own lifetime risks is huge and I look forward to doing what I can to help fundraise for this very worthy cause. 

I will be self-funding the event costs so all of the money donated through this page will go directly to the Charity. Please help spur me on through the tough months ahead and donate to my page. 

Thank you xx

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.