As a parent of a baby with severe eczema, I’m running my first ever marathon - 26.2 miles for Eczema UK - to help ensure more families facing the challenges of eczema can access the support they need and know they’re not alone.

I’ve lived with eczema for most of my childhood and into early adulthood, so I know just how physically and emotionally exhausting it can be. In 2019, I went through topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), which at the time felt like the hardest thing I’d ever experienced. As I recovered, I discovered running, and it became a huge part of rebuilding both my physical and mental health. I’ve since completed two half marathons - including one when I was 17 weeks pregnant with my son, Jesse - but I’ve never taken on the challenge of a full marathon.

When Jesse was just two months old, he developed severe eczema. Nothing could have prepared me for the heartbreak of watching my own baby go through something I know all too well. Seeing him desperately scratch at his skin, struggle through uncomfortable nights and spend his days battling an itch he can’t understand has been the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. As a parent, you want nothing more than to take your child’s pain away - and knowing there’s so little you can do is utterly heartbreaking. It breaks my heart that after living with eczema myself, my son is now facing the same condition from such a young age.

Every single day, Jesse is running his own marathon. Eczema doesn’t take a day off - it’s there when he wakes up, throughout the day and through the night. It’s a relentless condition that affects not only the person living with it, but their whole family. Taking on my first marathon is my way of giving something back by raising vital funds for Eczema UK, helping more families access the support, information and hope they deserve.

If you’re able to donate, no matter how big or small, it would mean the world to me, Jesse and the thousands of families living with eczema. Thank you so much for your support.

Jesse is my inspiration for every step towards the finish line. The marathon is my challenge, but the reason I’m running it is his. I hope that one day he’ll cross his own eczema finish line and know a life with fewer battles against his skin.