In 2015, in honour of my niece Ellie Easton (and in celebration of my fortieth birthday) I ran the London Marathon in aid of Young Lives vs Cancer. Ellie died just six weeks before the race at the age of 16, and I ran in her memory.

At the time, and although I loved every minute of race day, the wintery miles and the time away from family had taken its toll and I swore I wouldn’t do it again until I was 50. Well, here we are ten* years later.

Before she died, Ellie expressed her wish to be remembered with a beach hut at Saunton Sands in North Devon – a beloved haunt of both our families. In the following months her community came together like no other and the family’s charity Everything Ellie was born. Both Ellie’s Hut and Ellie’s Lodge are available for families in the Southwest to ‘make the best time of your worst time’ – a place to relax, not too far from your medical team and where, when health changes and plans must change, bookings are merely postponed and not cancelled.

So, on 12th April 2026, in memory of Ellie (and in celebration of my 50th birthday*) I shall be running the Paris Marathon in aid of Everything Ellie. Please consider donating – you can find out more about the charity from the link on this page.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity so it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

*Yes, it’s eleven years and I am now 51. I was due to run the New York marathon in November 2025, but the current US administration made that too difficult. That’s why I transferred to Paris. Still, running a marathon at 51 is much harder than running one at 50 and surely deserves more in sponsorship? 😉