This will be the 10th time I run the London Marathon in aid of The National Brain Appeal. This time I'll be joined by my son Jim which will give me an extra push to keep up! We've been doing a fair few training runs during lockdown along with our dog Victor (who's named after Victor Horsley, father of neurosurgery).

The money I raise will go towards the charity's Neurosurgery fund, which is there to provide state-of-the-art equipment, facilities for The National's neurosurgery unit - the largest in the UK. It provides a local, national and international service for specialised neurosurgical problems such as epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, movement disorders and pituitary tumours. The fund also supports much-needed research.

Previous projects as part of the Neurosurgery fund include the building of a new specialist spinal operating theatre, and the recent doubling in size of the Molly Lane Fox ward for patients with brain tumours.

Thank you to everyone who is generously making a donation to support our challenge. The National Brain Appeal really does make a vital difference to the care of our patients, and I'm delighted to do my small part to help improve the outcome for patients affected by neurological conditions.

With best wishes,

Neil, Jim & Victor