This year, I’m taking on two marathons — Manchester in April and Berlin in September — to raise £3,000 for the Lily Foundation. The Lily Foundation funds vital research into mitochondrial disease, supports affected families, and works tirelessly towards developing effective treatments and, one day, a cure.

Our beautiful boy, Toby, lives with mitochondrial disease (mito). Mito is the reason his brain hasn’t developed properly. It’s why he has epilepsy, why he is registered blind, and why he cannot walk or talk. Mitochondria are responsible for producing the energy every cell in the body needs to function. In Toby’s case, those cells don’t work as they should, meaning his body doesn’t get the energy it needs. This affects multiple systems and impacts every aspect of his life.

Toby’s condition is life-limiting, and currently there is no cure.

We live with the reality of mito every day — the uncertainty, the fear, and the knowledge that there are so many unanswered questions. That is why I am running. I am running for Toby. I am running for answers. I am running in the hope that one day there will be treatments that change the future for children like him.

By supporting the Lily Foundation, you are helping to fund crucial research and provide support to families facing this devastating diagnosis. Most of all, you are helping to create hope — hope that one day no family will have to live in fear of mitochondrial disease.