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Chris and Dawn are brother and sister we are running the Virgin London Marathon 2017 for Guide Dogs.

About us:

Dawn was born with a genetic eye condition which she inherited from her dad. At the age of 4 Dawn caught an infection after having a successful operation to increase her vision. The infection left her with no vision in her right eye and limited vision in her left eye. At the age of 15 Dawn had complete sight loss due to complications. Dawn went on to complete her GCSE's went away to a specialist college to complete her A levels and adapt to living with no vision. At the age of 17 she was diagnosed with Epilepsy. This did not stop her from following her dreams to go on to university. In 2007 Dawn graduated from university of Chester with an honors degree in Business Management. 

In 2011 Dawn applied for her first guide dog, as her Epilepsy was becoming problematic as travelling was tiring and stressful. In April 2012 she was matched with a Retriever cross Labrador called Kerry. Dawn's life was changed completely, her epilepsy was under control because she wasn't tired and stressed. Dawn started to travel independently to London to see friend's. She overcame her fear of flying with Kerry by her side. Dawn started a full time job in Manchester. In April 2015 Dawn started working for Guide Dogs as a Community Fundraiser a role she loves. In Summer 2015 Kerry was retired and Dawn was devastated. Dawn lost her confidence and in October 2015 she was matched with her new guide dog Helena. Helena is full of life and is another life changer for Dawn. Dawn and Helena have achieved so much in the last 12 months. They have flown to Scotland and are often seen travelling to London for shopping trips with friends and family.

Chris:

Chris is Dawn's older brother he has always treated her the same while growing up. He would laugh when she got lost and would enjoy listening to how she would end up in the wrong place or couldn't find something. He is a proud dad to Kya, Rhys and Casey. Chris is a manager for a Tesco Express store in Chester and before signing up for the marathon Chris was not a runner but he will be Dawn's guide runner for the whole 26.2 miles. Since he started training he has completed Hell Up North in Delamere forest. Chris often jokes with Dawn about how she is more independent than he is. They are very competitive about their training. We are both excited for the Marathon and I have to trust Chris to guide me for 26.2 miles something he has never done before. "I have to make sure I don't trip Dawn up and tell her what is happening". We are looking forward to seeing the sights and sounds of the capital and taking part in such a big event.

Please support us to fundraise for this amazing charity to create more life changers like Helena and Kerry to enable more people who are living with sight loss to get out and about and follow their dreams.