On 14th April 2024, I will be running Reading Half in memory of a wonderful boy called Elliott Peto.

I first met Elliott’s parents, Aimee and Chris, in Autumn 2016. We were part of the same NCT group and our babies were due early 2017. I went onto have my daughter Alice and Aimee and Chris had a little boy called Elliott. We were the only two couples (I think!) who didn’t know if they were expecting a girl or a boy, so they were both surprises!

Through the baby years we met up (alongside others) for coffee and cake, baby massage, pottery painting – and as they started to grow up we would reunite for their birthday parties. This is a photo of Alice and Elliott at one of those parties 😊

(See update posts for photo)

Towards the end of 2021, I heard from Aimee the devastating news that Elliott had been diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer, at age 4. While he responded to frontline treatment well, starting on maintenance chemotherapy in June 2022, he relapsed in August 2022. Second line treatments were unsuccessful and Elliott began palliative care in November 2022 after there were no effective treatment options left. Elliott passed away on 1st December 2022, Aged 5.

It does make me sad that Alice does not have her own personal memories of Elliott. The risks during the pandemic and Elliott’s treatment would have made it impossible to meet - but she knows who he is now, she knows that he isn’t with us any more in physical form and she enjoys looking at photos of him. She also knows her mummy is running a race in his memory and that he is a very special boy. This is another photo of Elliott meeting Andy which is the one Alice has picked to go onto this page.

(See update posts for photo)

Aimee and Chris (alongside other family members) have thrown themselves into fundraising and I knew I wanted to do something to support them. So first things first, I really am not a runner! Those eagle eyed will have noticed me doing Couch To 5K over the last 10 weeks – it felt important to reach that milestone before I set this page up! But I’ve just finished it and although am pretty nervous, feeling more confident that I can do this!

I wanted to do this fundraiser for two reasons. Firstly to raise money to support children with this aggressive type of cancer. Secondly, to help keep Elliott’s memory alive and to keep talking about him. One of the first conversations I had with Aimee was about how best stay in touch – and actually the memories we share are largely happy ones.

I will be fundraising for Elliott's Arc, part of the Alice's Arc charity. This is a children's cancer charity dedicated to funding research into finding a cure and less harsh treatments for Rhabdomyosarcoma. Alice’s Arc is a place where a family and their supporters/community can honour a child or young person’s experience with rhabdomyosarcoma, fundraise, advocate and demonstrate their impact. You can read more about Alice’s Arc here: Alice's Arc (alicesarc.org)

I’ve stayed in touch with Aimee throughout my training and there have been some lovely little signs – and I do believe in signs. When I bought my running shoes (proper shoes!) they were bright blue, that was the only colour they had in the style that felt right for me. When I recently bought my FitBit to help me train, I picked a lovely coral colour. Elliott was a huge Spiderman fan, and little did I know I had picked Spiderman colours to support me on my training alongside the day itself.

(See update posts for photos)

Thank you for all of your support. I will be appreciative of anything that you are able to donate and you can read more about Elliott’s story here: https://www.alicesarc.org/arc/elliott-peto/

Thank You