Hello!

I’m running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in a few weeks to raise money for the MND Association. At work, our team is leading the charge with a goal of raising £400k for the charity this year and I’m determined to do my bit to help us get there.

The MND Association is close to my heart. Sadly, my partner Isabelle’s dad, Ashley, died from MND a number of years ago. While technology to support those living with MND has improved, medical treatments are still largely the same as they were twenty years ago and there is still no cure. I’m running in Ashley’s memory and for everyone affected by this cruel disease.

Training has been tough. I’ve had a recurrence of childhood asthma, and last year when it was at its worst, I may have dramatically declared “I’ll never run again!” With support from Isabelle, the kids, and a wild combo of inhalers from my doctor, I started again from scratch with Couch to 5k and then gradually built up with the Runna app. I’m nowhere near the speed I was a few years ago but I’ll grind out the half in around 2:20 to 2:30.

I’d love to raise a meaningful amount for the charity and selfishly to help us hit our big work goal. To add some fun we’ve set a couple of incentives:

If we hit £1,000 I’ll run the Abbey Dash dressed as a monk (thanks Isabelle 🙄).

If we hit £1,500 I’ll run it dressed as a chicken (thanks Bill 🙈).

Thank you so much for reading. No donation is too small and I’m grateful for every single penny.