For those that know me, it’s quite apparent I’m not built like a marathon runner and so this is a real big step outside my comfort zone. 

Am I nervous? Yes. Is the training hard? Yes. Do I wish I’d never signed up? No way- and I’ll tell you why below…

On December 17th 1992; my parents had the unimaginable heartache of losing twins, Grace and Thomas Doran due to a premature birth. Grace and Thomas can never be replaced but they’ve fortunately gone on to have my two beautiful little sisters Poppy and Evie of course the golden child of the Doran clan; the eldest- me. 

Unfortunately many others aren’t so lucky to go on to have more children and when telling others about the fact I’m running the marathon for Tommys, it’s saddening to hear just how frequent child loss is. In fact, it is estimated that in the UK, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss during pregnancy or birth and 60,000 babies are born prematurely each year.

Alongside running in memory of Grace & Thomas, I’m running for my business partner, Toby’s brother in law and his wife who lost their baby, Libby in 2020 along with any parent who has tragically lost a baby; their memory is always in our hearts and never forgotten!

Thankfully (but heartbreakingly for my parents) through investment into technology, there’s a chance that Grace and Thomas would have survived in today’s world and as a result thousands of babies lives are being saved each year.  There is still so much more that needs to be done by way of research and the cost of doing so is high…

Tommy’s is a fantastic charity that not only provides funding into research to prevent premature births, miscarriages and stillbirths but also provides support for grieving parents through what can only be described as some of the toughest moments a person can experience in their life. 

I remind you of the stat mentioned earlier so it really resonates…  in the UK it is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss during pregnancy or birth and 60,000 babies are born prematurely each year. 

These numbers are frankly far too high and so I’m going WAY outside my comfort zone by signing up to this Marathon but it’s the absolute smallest sacrifice I could make to honour and remember those babies who are unfortunately with us no longer.

Dig deep in your pockets please and donate to such an amazing charity or just donate as a show of disbelief that I’m actually going to run a marathon… either way it’s all going to an amazing cause and will save babies lives!

Thank you, Jack

P.s you can follow my Marathon training on Strava where I give a little update after each training session (usually just an ugly sweaty selfie):

https://www.strava.com/athletes/76558068