Hi, I'm Sophie. I work as an I.T manager in the NHS. I'm a mum to my four year old son, Louis. 

In 2020 my sister in law, Rebecca Ruane, unfortunately developed acute pancreatitis. Due to the pandemic, for much of her hospital stay her family and loved ones were unable to visit her to offer support and hugs. This was very difficult. Thankfully, Rebecca is now out of hospital and working on getting better every day. Guts UK have been a wonderful resource for our family, informing us about Rebecca's condition but also providing an outlet for her creative side, in the form of arts and crafts in order to fundraise for Guts UK. 

I wanted to get involved with the fundraising for the charity too to show support to Rebecca so have really pushed myself out of my comfort zone, training for the London Marathon 2021. I was lucky enough to be picked in the Guts UK marathon place ballot, here's a funny video of my name being picked from a portaloo (number 2 of all places!) 

https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=171830461457961

In 2018 I had my gallbladder removed via emergency surgery after developing complications caused by gallstones. Research into all things guts related is massively under funded and every £1 given can make a massive difference to the effort to fund research, support people and also publicise that not all illnesses are visible. 

"We're getting to grips with guts!"25ft is a lot of gut to understand! The truth is, our guts have been underfunded, understaffed and undervalued for decades. People are suffering, people are dying. All because of a lack of knowledge about our guts.With new knowledge, we will end the pain and suffering for the millions affected by digestive diseases. Guts UK’s research leads to earlier diagnoses, kinder treatments and ultimately, a cure.''