For those that don’t already know. Our Daughter Cecily was born in February 2025, she had a rough start to say the least. Cecily decided to start breathing BEFORE emerging into the world, in the process she inhaled a significant amount of meconium. She wasn’t breathing when she arrived, she had a collapsed lung and was whisked away by truly amazing Doctors and nurses who resuscitated her, put her on a ventilator and a chest drain and gave her the very best care until we could be transferred to St Peter’s level 3 NICU which is where she needed to be.

It is in St Peter’s that we first became aware of the Little Roo Charity.

The incubator that helped save Cecilys life was provided by Little Roo, the breast pumps that the Mummies used to provide the milk to give their babies the very best start, were provided by Little Roo, the comfy reclining chairs that we sat in when we were finally allowed to hold our baby were paid for by Little Roo. They even covered our parking costs for the entirety of Cecily’s stay - anyone who’s dealt with long-term hospital visits knows how quickly that adds up.

Little Roo also provided picture story books we used to explain to Cecilys older brothers how she was being looked after, helping them better understand and prepare for visiting her, in what can be a scary atmosphere for little ones.

All of the above and much more is why we wanted to do something to say thank you to Little Roo and hopefully give back a little.

That’s why, when Sarah (aka the current Mrs Milner) spotted the ballot for the London Landmarks Half Marathon, she very helpfully signed me up.

Now, I haven’t run further than the corner shop in a good while, and I’m rather fond of biscuits, cheese, chocolate, beer, you get the idea!!… so I will be starting training runs immediately and intend to do my absolute best to not crawl over the line.

If you can help us support Little Roo and give me the extra motivation to get my bum in gear, please consider sponsoring me.

Thanks, Joe

On Sunday 12th April 2026, 21 incredible runners will take on the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise funds for Little Roo Neonatal Fund at St Peter's Hospital.

Team Little Roo brings together:

- Dedicated staff who care for sick and premature babies on the neonatal unit, running for the tiny patients they care for.

- Families whose babies were cared for on the neonatal unit, together with their relatives and friends. Some are running in thanks, while others are running in memory of their beautiful babies.

Together, we are running 13.1 miles to give every baby the best possible start in life. Your generous donations will help provide life-saving equipment, care for families throughout their neonatal journey, and ongoing support for the amazing NICU team.