This April I am taking on my biggest challenge to date all for a very specific reason….

As many of you will know my Dad Ian has Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic neurological disease that he has battled since his diagnosis in 1999. One day in 2008 Dad announced, in his usual determined fashion, that in 10 years he would be out of his wheelchair, cured of MS and would run the London marathon. The following year a similar conversation arose where Dad again declared that in 10 years he’d be cured and run the marathon. Despite being impressed with his endless resolve, we decided that we couldn’t let Dad just keep saying 10 years and told him he’d have to commit to a date... so the year was set – 2019 London marathon was officially in the diary! As Dad’s condition deteriorated and it became more and more obvious his chances of marathon running were pretty minuscule I promised that, no matter what, I would run the 2019 London marathon for the MS Society, for MS sufferers and their families, but more than anything for my Dad.

Unfortunately, the last year has seen a big deterioration in Dad’s health with an unexpected sudden downhill in May 2018 that looked on several occasions like the fight might be over for our wonderful Dad. But, in his usual spirit, Dad has defied the odds and after months of ITU and hospital care has incredibly got to a stable condition, though still requiring constant care.

I genuinely cannot put in to words how much running this event means to me, and the fact that my Dad is still here to know I’ve done it makes it all the more special. Raising money to help the MS society is just a small way I can help others facing similar battles to the one my family has known and all your help is so greatly appreciated. Though running isn’t new to me 26.2 miles really is my biggest physical challenge yet so the training is already underway and I am terrified! Thank you all so very much for your support. Let's do this thing.