I was diagnosed with Endometriosis in Feb 2019 after a year of strange, scary and quite intense pain. I was lucky though, as the average diagnosis time is around 7.5 years. Endo is a condition that affects 1 in 10 women, there is no known cause, no cure and it is most certainly not my idea of fun. Sometimes, the pain can be so bad, that I cannot stand up. Many times, I’ve been singing away to the radio while making dinner, only to be suddenly crippled by sharp stabbing pains. I end up sitting on the floor in agony, but I continue to sing to try to take my mind off the pain! 

Endo is in the NHS top 20 most painful conditions, but very low down on the list when it comes to funding and research. Diagnosis is through laparoscopic surgery and the treatment options are very limited: further surgery to remove the endometriosis (though it can and often does grow back), hormone treatment or pain relief.

I found Endometriosis UK a few days before I was booked in for my laparoscopy. They had a wealth of information and I did all the research I could on their website before being diagnosed a few days later. They work incredibly hard at trying to improve the lives of those living with this awful condition and all with very little funding. They rely heavily on fundraising and I cannot tell you how happy I am that they exist. It means a great deal to me (And others I have met who have this debilitating condition) that they are there for us.

And so, when I spotted they had secured places for the 2021 virtual London Marathon, it sparked something in me and I signed up right there and then. I get to plan my own marathon route and run on Sunday 3rd October along with 49,999 other people around the world who will be doing the same. The longest distance I had ran when I signed up was 10k. I was terrified but I also felt electric and I still feel that way now. I'm excited to push myself and do this for such a bloody brilliant cause. 

I'm really enjoying the training and I've kind of turned it into a proper project. I'm reading running books, listening to podcasts and spending sums of money on running gear that I wouldn't even dream of spending on a 'going out' outfit! I'm changing already and I feel like I'm growing as a person. Through my 'studies' on running, I have been astounded to learn about the challenges female runners faced when wanting to run long distances. There wasn't a women's marathon in the Olympics until 1984! It was thought that we females were too fragile and that our uterus might fall out, and now here I am planning to run a marathon with a condition that sometimes actually feels like that!

Kathrine Switzer is now one of my heroes. In 1967 she signed up for the Boston marathon under her initials and was accepted. On the day she wore her boyfriend's baggy clothes but soon into the race was spotted to be a female runner. She was attacked mid run multiple times by the race manager who was enraged she had dared to 'infiltrate' the marathon. She soldiered on and went on to complete the race. When reading about her I sobbed but I was also utterly inspired.

The pangs of Endo pain mid run are always there to remind me of the cause I'm running for. I'm running for all of us whose best friend is our trusty hot water bottle. For all of us who take our pain killers, stick on our heat pads and then put on lipstick to go meet our friends and laugh with them. And for all of us who need this charity and depend on their support to get us through and not feel so alone.

Thank you for reading,

Case x

P.S I welcome marathon playlist suggestions too :-)