However you made it to this page, thank you for taking the time to read about my journey, and why I am soo eager to help the brilliant Pituitary Foundation. 

A gentleman named Paul Revere once famously rode through Massachusetts shouting "The British are coming!". While I am not planning any sort of hostile takeover, I will be attempting to conquer the streets of Boston by taking part in the 126th running of the city Marathon in aid of the Pituitary Foundation. 

If I am successful in jogging/plodding/dragging my way from Hopkinton to central Boston - it will be the culmination of a 7 year journey to complete the 6 marathon majors having taken in some of the world's great cities (and a global pandemic). 

Personal ambition aside, you might be wondering whatever possessed me to run one marathon, let alone a further 5! This story starts in late 2014 when visiting my doctor over some persistent knee pains, I hobbled away with a diagnosis of a tumour on my pituitary gland. A frightening diagnosis to hear - tumours only mean one thing right? -  and It was hard to fully grasp what this actually meant. With this being such a rare condition any information was scarce or confusing. Whilst knowledge is growing all the time, causes of a pituitary tumours are unknown - what is understood is that anything impacting the normal functioning of the pituitary gland can have all sorts of impact on your daily life and well-being. 

Your pituitary gland is the unofficial second brain in your body - the puppet master behind all the hormone responses in your body - it controls everything from your adrenaline, growth, sexual drive, aggression, energy levels and much more. Your hormones unconsciously drive your very essence as a person - why you might feel nervous before you ask the love of your life to marry you, the flood of endorphins you sense when you bite into a delicious treat, or the thrill you get when bungee jumping off a bridge. This was the internal challenge I faced as my tumour which they suspected I had had for 15+ years with increasing potency, impacted me through my formative years both physically but also the intangibles of me as person - how I saw the world around me, reacted to situations, the energy I had to give. 

This all took a toll mentally, I struggled with bitterness suspecting that this gremlin inside me had stopped me from achieving my true potential - had my difficulties from tiredness and concentration prevented me from being the next Elon Musk? Had the excess growth hormone robbed me of potential film star good looks? 

This is where the incredible efforts of the pituitary foundation came in - they ran workshops, a helpline and provided information/materials to spread awareness of this debilitating condition. The in-person forums were of most benefit to me and my family - sharing the journeys of other going through the same things I was experiencing, bringing in experts to educate on how to cope and thrive despite the obstacles, and just providing that listening non-judgemental ear when all you want to do is rage at the unfairness of it all. 

They were a huge part of the process of getting me back on my feet and I literally took that one step further by using those same feet to run a first marathon in Paris for the charity. As I draw closer to another personal goal, of acquiring that 6 star marathon major medal, I want to show my appreciation again by donning the snazzy orange Pituitary Foundation jersey around the streets of Boston, and hopefully raising some awareness and funds at the same time.

The pituitary foundation is not the biggest charity and they have been severely impacted by the global pandemic that has hit us all soo hard and in so many unimaginable ways. While they are small in comparison to other charities, their work is just as crucial and relied upon by those who need them. I will be forever grateful to them, and if my friends would like to donate to their efforts - I would be eternally thankful.

Thank you for reading my story! Kets

My 6 star journey was actually profiled on the Abbott World Marathon site - you can read about that here: https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/content-hub/i-conquered-my-everest