So I’m running a half marathon on 2 April…!

…now that is not a sentence I ever expected to write in my lifetime so in all seriousness please send help, tips and most importantly any donation you are able to spare! I know we’re in difficult times but every little (no matter how little) genuinely makes a difference and would be so, so very much appreciated.

To be brutally honest I applied to do this run the evening that my uncle passed away and I’m not sure I’ve ever thought about many things less; I guess we’ll blame it on a grief-driven knee jerk reaction?! Safe to say there were "mixed" emotions when I got offered a place a few weeks later!

Those reading this who know me well, however, know how many of the most important and closest people in my life cancer has taken away far too early…it never gets easier, in fact in many ways it feels worse each time. Fundraising for cancer research charities has been a huge part of my life since I was seven and lost my big brother Jamie to leukaemia. A determination to volunteer, fundraise and donate in the hope that better treatments and outcomes will be possible for others in future, so that others don’t have to go through the pain of losing their loved ones to cancer, became - thanks to my parents' example - a core part of my life and a key coping mechanism.

So, thinking about it, maybe it wasn’t so surprising that I found myself searching for something to channel myself into and fundraise for that evening...! After years of sponsored cycles, the last of which I did shortly after my Dad passed away, I felt I needed a fresh challenge. And, being simultaneously someone who would hide and/or make any excuse to avoid cross-country at school and also someone gifted with a talent for breaking bones, running honestly is probably the most challenging thing (for me!) I could think of and I found myself applying for the landmarks half with the ICR.

As a positive, I have discovered through training for this that running really is a bit of a mental health god send and it has helped with the grief – at times. It has also admittedly – at most times – been crazy humbling, painful, time consuming, boring, hard-going and – nearly all the time – very, very scary given that when I applied for a place on the half the longest I had ever run was 5k!

I’m pleased to report that I have now managed to run considerably further than 5k (!) However, thanks to some injury time off (classic!) and an unexpected round of covid (still testing positive as I write this under two weeks away from the run - eek!) my training has taken a hit and I think it’s safe to say that the 2nd is going to be even more of a mental and physical challenge than I was planning for. 

It really would mean the world if you are reading this and are able to donate any amount at all to spur me on. The ICR is an incredible charity funding such important and ground-breaking research to treat cancers and improve outcomes and I’d love to raise as much money as possible to help them continue this vital work.