BERLIN MARATHON

After limping over the line at the Manchester Half Marathon (getting hospitalised the following week with severe pneumonia + empyema 🫠) and managing to pull it together a few months later to finish a sweltering Bristol Half, I am taking my plucky yet confused body 26.2 miles through the best city in the world.

WHY I AM DOING IT

A marathon always seemed a bit OTT, but now having done quite a few halfs, I was thinking about making the step up.

Then I got an email from Anthony Nolan saying they were looking for charity runners and it felt like I had to do it.

Anthony Nolan is a charity that helps people with blood cancers and blood disorders find willing stem cell donors.

In late 2023 my wife was diagnosed with an extremely rare blood condition called aplastic anaemia. One of the main treatments for this is a stem cell transplant. Thankfully she has been able to get on the mend without the need for one.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

When you are freaking out and trying to understand what is happening, it is incredibly reassuring to find out that a charity has done the hard work to put together a database of donors that may be able to help (definitely definitely sign up to be a donor if you feel up to it).

I would really love any support you can give.

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For someone with blood cancer, a stem cell transplant could be their last chance of survival. Today, five people will start their search for a stranger to save their life. Anthony Nolan is the charity that makes lifesaving connections between people with blood cancer and incredible strangers ready to donate their stem cells. It costs £40 to add each new potential donor to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register. Every new person on the register means another chance for someone to find their lifesaving match.

By donating to our page, you will be giving more people with blood cancer the chance of a future. Thank you so much. Together, we can keep saving lives.