I signed up to run the London marathon - something I NEVER thought I would do - in October 2019 to celebrate my recovery from (or rather I should say my more successful management of) crippling and debilitating chronic migraine.  Little did I know that as I reached the end of the exhausting training schedule ready to face this unbelievably scary challenge, a global pandemic would cause the event to be cancelled for the first time in its history.  This is my take two.  It’s been even tougher second time round - deja vu is not a feeling I have relished as I have slogged along the Thames Path. It has been one of the hottest summers on record (the event was moved to October this year again for Covid reasons) and as well as dealing with work, teenagers and summer holidays I finally succumbed to the virus myself in July taking me totally out of training for 3 weeks.  Oh and my migraines flared up again just to remind me how challenging it is to live with this little understood and devastating condition.

My journey started back in May 2017 when I started having, what I described, as "dizzy spells". I am (or should I say was given what migraine has done to me) extremely laid back from a health perspective (being the daughter of 2 doctors) so I ignored it. It escalated over the summer with more frequent dizzy attacks and significant problems with my vision. Things continued to get worse, and I ended up having a severe vertigo attack in the office. I was having tingling and numbness all down my left hand side and my head "hurt" - a lot. At its worst I was unable to walk (never mind run) without holding on to someone.

After numerous tests and trips to various doctors (during which time I got increasingly worried and my symptoms worsened) I eventually found an amazing neurologist, who diagnosed migraine. Finally it clicked. Like too many people I assumed migraine was just "a
bad headache". Whilst I did get "bad headaches" because I didn't
vomit, it didn’t cross my mind they were migraines. I had no idea what else migraine could do to the brain. It totally turned my life upside down. I have suffered 4 or 5 extreme attacks with aura over the last couple of years (which have each floored me for a week or more) and beyond that I have had sometimes daily symptoms of vertigo and vision problems and what I call a "bad head" where noise and busy environments are impossible. I have had to take a variety of unpleasant medication, was forced to take a prolonged break from
my career and have explored countless remedies from acupuncture to vestibular physio. Some things help, some give me something to do.

For me personally one of the key parts of my recovery was being able to run again. Running is a huge part of who I am and when I couldn't do it, it hugely affected my mental health.  When I say run though I was a 5 and 10 k person NOT a long distance runner!

When I decided to run the London Marathon, I knew I had to support The Migraine Trust. I wanted to try and raise awareness for just how crippling migraine is. Too many people have their lives severely disrupted and those who don't suffer think it's "just a headache". I can assure you, as someone who lives with chronic vestibular migraine, it is not.

Thank you so much for your support as I undertake this bucket list challenge. I know this is a huge endeavour given how vulnerable my health has been these past couple of years but, with your support, careful training and pure grit I am determined to make it.