In April 2017 my dear friend Stuart Hogg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It came as a massive shock. Following several rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, he lost his incredibly brave battle in August 2017.

Just six weeks before his diagnosis Stuart was the fittest he’d ever been - a dedicated cyclist with barely a day’s illness in his life. Stuart had only started suffering with stomach pains whilst on holiday the month before. By the time the cancer was discovered it was at stage IV and too advanced for surgery. The silent battle had begun long before, but one of the great challenges with this form of cancer - it is truly a silent and invisible killer. 

Perhaps with great sadness comes an even greater opportunity. We, as friends and family, are raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK in memory of Stuart. It’s impossible to know whether Stuart would have survived if his cancer was detected earlier, but we do know that 9600 families like ours will face a pancreatic cancer diagnosis this year, and with the numbers set to increase, urgent action needs to be taken. 

Less than 5% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive for five years or more, and the survival rates have barely changed in over 40 years. Despite these terrible statistics, only 1% of cancer research funding is invested in this disease. Sadly it has been seriously neglected and is in desperate need of more funding. This needs to change.

During the ordeal, one thing that really stood out was the wonderful support we received from Pancreatic Cancer UK who stood by Stuart and the family when it really mattered and helped us all understand and manage the situation the best we could. I am very grateful to have received the quality of support and care we did and feel it is only right that I do my part to help too. 

I am honoured to run my first marathon for Stuart, something I've long wanted to do and for a man we were blessed to have, with the support of PCUK behind me.

We are all doing our bit to raise money to help other people like Stuart and their family's. I have always relished and thrived under a challenge, but never has the opportunity presented itself to do something so important. I can think of no better fundraising endeavour than running the London Marathon and being part of such an occasion for this incredibly important cause.

Please spare whatever you can. By supporting me you’re supporting people like Stuart up and down the country. Thank you!