I am running this marathon in memory of my sister Lize to support Leukaemia UK.

Lize died aged 32 in early August. She so wanted to live, and had such a lot to live for.

Lize had been in good health, and had recently returned from holiday when a painful spot appeared on her thigh, which was spreading rapidly. She attended the Royal London hospital, who diagnosed Necrotising Facilitis, and she swiftly also developed Sepsis. These were treated successfully, but blood tests showed an underlying cause for these problems; Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

She lived for a further eight months, mostly in Barts Hospital, fighting this terrible disease every step of the way.

I am so, so proud of the way my sister fought this disease the whole way, but unfortunately on this occasion, nothing could be done.

I hope other lives can be saved through more research, and hope that you can offer support.

We are Leukaemia UK. We believe research has the power to stop leukaemia devastating lives.

Despite decades of incredible progress, only half of leukaemia patients live longer than five years after their diagnosis. We won’t stop until we change this.

Bringing together the leukaemia community, we will accelerate progress through life-changing research, awareness and advocacy, doing everything we can to make sure that the next person with leukaemia has the best possible experience of diagnosis, treatment and care.