In April 2025 I will be running the iconic London Marathon in aid of Make-A-Wish® UK! 


Hi. My name is Gillian and by a weird quirk of fate ( all down to my daughter !) I have become the Running  Christmas Tree 🎄

I was never a runner but took up the 'Couch to 5 K' challenge as a way to try and get fit at the end of 2019. I fell in love with running and the sense of peace and freedom you get from it.

During lockdown I did some 'virtual' challenges raising money for charity which gave it all a sense of purpose for me.

While watching the London Marathon on tv I made a remark about how I would have loved to have done that to which my husband replied "Why don't you then"! So for me that was challenge accepted!! 
I then read about the amazing charity MAKE A WISH UK who grant wishes for seriously and terminally ill children across the UK.

Some of the stories of what these children have gone through and are still smiling made me cry. They are all so incredibly brave and they are not asking for the world they just want wishes that are easily attainable if we can help MAKE A WISH UK grant them.

So that was when I decided to help MAKE A WISH UK as much as possible as I cannot imagine what these children go through or the sense of helplessness that their parents must feel and I would love to do all I can to help them. 
So I started running and raising money for MAKE A WISH UK  

Every Christmas for the last few years I have run my local Christmas Cracker dressed as a Christmas tree 🎄 ( I love Christmas ) recently my daughter suggested I should run in it all the time that way they wouldn't miss me as I go past ( it happens a lot !) so much to everyone's embarrassment (except mine, I have no shame !!) I have now started running permanently as a Christmas tree 🎄 complete with lights and a star ⭐️ and I just love how it makes everyone smile especially children and I figured that if I am doing this for children then spreading a little happiness along the way is no bad thing.

 I know I will never be speedy or even graceful as I run ( most of the time I run more like a tree slowly falling over anyway!) but if I've made people smile and helped to grant these amazing children's wishes along the way then that's great by me.

So not only will I be running the London Marathon in 2025 I will also be running The Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday 13th October 2024 as a Christmas tree 🎄 which seemed quite fitting for a park 😂 and of course my local Christmas Cracker run in December along with a few others I might fit in along the way 🎄😊

Thank you so much for reading my story. Please share it and if you can donate that is amazing as you are helping to grant children's wishes. Thank you 🩷🎄

Make-A-Wish® UK grant life-changing wishes for thousands of critically ill children across the UK. Sadly, the number of wish enquiries from seriously ill children with less than a year to live is rising fast. They need help to meet this urgent demand now - before it’s too late. For families with critically ill children, every day counts. Your support has the power to make a wish come true for a critically ill child, allowing families to create lasting memories that they will treasure forever – no matter what the future holds.