Why I’m running the Brighton Marathon

After a drunken conversation one evening, my brother Monty suggested we run 26.2 miles. But let me get something straight… I’m not a runner! So, guess what happened… with a bit of Dutch courage I agreed. We’re running the Brighton Marathon, in memory of our grandfather, Peter Mulholland, who passed away from prostate cancer in June 2025.

Peter was an incredible man. He celebrated his 90th birthday in March 2024 with a surprise party surrounded by family, something he talked about for months afterwards, he was honoured, and almost embarrassed, that his friends and family had travelled across the country to make a fuss of him because fuss was not his style.

He was a talented artist who sent Christmas cards depicting his art every year, a cartographer, civil servant and a soldier. He loved telling stories, from finding a downed German plane in nearby fields as a child, to serving with the army along the Suez Canal. Even at 91, he was sharp, curious, and deeply interested in the world, often knowing more about modern infrastructure projects like Hinkley Point C, than most. He was cheeky too, often joking that there were people in his apartment complex who were “even older than me” and that there were more women there than even he could handle.

Peter was from a generation that just got on with things. He didn’t want fuss and did things his own way. It was only shortly before his death that he told his family he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer almost three years earlier. He wasn’t scared or embarrassed, he simply didn’t want to make a fuss.

And in that same vein I will be putting one foot in front of the other, running hundreds of miles in training through the cold dark winter months in an attempt to make one last fuss for my Grandad.

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In a truly excellent example of poor decision-making, I’ll also be raffling off the chance to shave my head.

I’ve been growing my hair since July 2025. The last time it all came off was April 2020, when my younger brother Monty was diagnosed with cancer, yes, the same Monty I’ll be running the Brighton Marathon with this April (and when I say “running with”, I mean he’ll finish hours before me while I dramatically re-evaluate everything at mile 18).

If you’d like to be the lucky person to send my luscious locks to the great barbershop in the sky, simply put “BUZZ” at the start of your donation.

Every £1 donated gets you one ticket in the raffle. The shaving will happen in early April and will almost certainly be filmed for public humiliation.

I would never ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do myself, which is why I’ll be matching all donations up to the £500 target.

Thank you all so much for the support — my head (and surprisingly pointy dome) appreciate it.