Running the London Marathon in memory of my sister…

Losing a parent has a profound and everlasting effect on a child no matter what age. My younger sister and I lost our mum to cancer when I was 8 and Kate was just 7. It created a sense of feeling different, being the outsider and never quite fitting in. Mental health support in the mid-1980s was limited to say the least with a ‘stiff upper lip culture’ prevailing.

My solution was to focus on work and went onto become a psychologist and senior leader in the NHS. The irony of the ‘heal thy self’ has not been lost on me! My sister outwardly struggled more going down the rebellious route and sadly developing long standing issues with alcohol. She died in October 2025 due to her deteriorating physical health.

I’ve run a few marathons before but never for charity. Partly, because I am not comfortable with being front and centre - but I have found myself here, and now I am asking for your support. I am running the marathon to raise money for Heads On and I am asking you to please sponsor me. To coin a phrase, every little helps and your donation will help change, and even save, lives.

Heads On is important to me as I’m incredibly passionate and proud of the work they do to support people who experience mental health difficulties (with and without alcohol dependencies). Living with mental health problems can be life changing, but we believe that with the right support extraordinary things can happen.

Anyone can experience a mental health problem. One in four of us every year.

At Heads On we do everything we can to make things better for the people who come to Sussex Partnership for help, by providing funding for special projects, patient and family support, pioneering research and the transformation of your local mental health hospitals into more comfortable and welcoming environments.

Thanks to the generosity of our fundraisers, Heads On can help to provide the best possible support to people with mental health problems across Sussex and beyond.

A childhood photo that just makes me smile!