Simon's Story

‘In April 2026, I'll be taking on the inaugural ‘Little Marl Marathon’ which you wont have heard of because I basically made it up. ‘Little Marl’ is what we called my wife Sam’s Mum. Her actual name is Marlene Woodhead and she was the kindest woman you could ever meet, the sort who would give you her last bean without a second thought. Little Marl died suddenly last year from heart failure which has obviously rocked my family and left us all still raw. She’s missed terribly by Sam, her sister Caroline and of course her grandchildren.

Marl would have turned 70 in April so on 25 April 2026 to mark the occasion I'm running 70k (43 miles) starting from her childhood home in Woodthorpe and then looping around what was her city, Sheffield.

It’s going to be really really tough. I’ve actually only run a few half marathons before so 70k or 43 miles will be brutal but I’m also raising money for the British Heart Foundation so if you could chuck a few quid in we’d all be massively grateful.’

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives. It's only thanks to support from people like us that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures. £24 could pay for two hours of research by an early career scientist, but every pound helps so please give what you can to help me hit my target.

Thank you ❤️