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National Brain Appeal is the charity that have helped fund Queen Square since 1984. (Queen Square is the collective name for The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology).Their research is pioneering and they have transformed the lives of millions of people living with neurological and neuromuscular conditions. They have supported, helped and saved the lives of some people very precious to me.

My uncle, who lived a long life with Parkinson's Disease was treated at Queen Square for years. A friend with Multiple Sclerosis has had the neurological aspects of her MS treated there. Another uncle and my childrens' headmaster were treated for stroke at the hospital and a close friend who had a brain aneurysm was saved by the hospital. Having fully recovered she has since has volunteered at the hospital and, being the most persuasive person I know, she is part of why I am taking on the marathon! So thank you, to Queen Square for giving me the opportunity to run the Marathon and raise as much money and awareness, too, of what the hospital and charity does.

Queen Square Hospital is a particularly special position in London so this year I enjoyed designing a tea towel and tote for them, drawing the buildings around the Square for the design. These will be for sale soon, through the charity and from myself with all proceeds going to the charity.

I will post about my training progress starting with my first goal, the Suffolk Half marathon on 12th October to get me going, then a Madrid Half Marathon in April 2025 and the London Marathon is at the end of April 2025.