As a little girl I promised my Dad that once I turned 18 I’d run a Marathon with him. Well, this year he beat me to it, and I had the privilege of watching him run his THIRD London Marathon in 4 hours, training in just 16 weeks.

Watching him and thousands of all ages and abilities go the distance, left me on a high for days completely awe inspired. If my Dad could do it and make it look easy, then I had no excuse!

With no expectations of getting in, my jaw hit the floor when I got the news that my first ballot entry for the London Marathon 2025 had been successful.

So, my training has started. I’m starting from scratch and pushing myself to my limits, from 5K to 10K, to half marathon, leading up to the final grit on Sunday 27th April 2025.

I wanted to use this opportunity to raise awareness for a cause very dear to my heart.

I’m running this race for my mum and my nan, but also for every friend whose story I’ve heard or witnessed, and for every woman and child who has been affected by domestic violence. That includes my two younger sisters.

I want to raise awareness and education for this cause, one of few where people still blame the victims.

A common myth is that it’s only domestic abuse if it involves physical or sexual violence that leaves bruises and marks…

Domestic abuse could involve:

* Emotional abuse, including gaslighting

* Coercive control

* Physical abuse

* Tech abuse

* Economic abuse

* Sexual abuse

Usually it involves more than one of those.

I want to support Refuge, the largest single provider of specialist services to survivors of domestic abuse.

Your support will provide safe, temporary accommodation for women and children escaping domestic abuse with access to one-to-one emotional and practical support.

More on How Refuge Help

In the words of my Dad:

Please donate what you can guys .. every bit goes to the charity… and I’ll do my bit by crawling around London !!

Thank you , thank you, thank you

Hannah