As most of you know, running does not come naturally or easily to me. However, I am challenging myself to run the Paddock Wood half marathon to raise money for an extremely special cause.

Chordoma is a very rare (1 in 800,000) type of primary bone cancer meaning it arises in bone (secondary bone cancer refers to those tumours that spread to bone from other parts of the body such as breast and prostate). Chordoma UK was established by Gerry and Sue Fitz-Gibbon shortly after Sue’s diagnosis. Initially it was established with the aim to simply raise funds for research being carried out at UCL Cancer Institute and to drive awareness of chordoma within the UK clinician and patient communities. Today Chordoma UK continues to financially support ground breaking research initiatives at UCL Cancer Institute and other institutions whilst underpinning the UK chordoma community through support and information resources.

I will be running this half marathon with the aim to help raise awareness of Chordoma UK and to continue supporting the amazing work the professors are doing researching into Chordoma every day.