I’m running the Tokyo Marathon in memory of my best friend, Alex Bernard-Bell.

Alex and I grew up together and he was one of the most important people in my life. Over the years we worked together on a number of music video and photo projects. Looking back now, I feel incredibly lucky to have those memories and the work we made.

In 2021, when he was 20, Alex was diagnosed with Diffuse Leptomeningeal Glioneuronal Tumour, or DLGNT, an exceptionally rare brain tumour. His family were suddenly faced with a disease that had very few answers, and worked tirelessly to connect doctors and researchers internationally, while building a community between other families affected by DLGNT.

Alex became a Young Ambassador for The Brain Tumour Charity, and his family and friends later created Team Syren in his name. Since then they have raised an extraordinary amount for research into rare paediatric brain tumours through Everest in the Alps, marathons, triathlons, music events and other challenges.

Alex died in January 2025, aged 23.

Tokyo has a very personal meaning for me. During Alex’s final days, I spent time in hospital with his family and remember talking with his grandparents about the years they had spent living in Japan and about Alex visiting them there.

Shortly after Alex died, I travelled to Tokyo myself. I was in a difficult period of my life and being there gave me space to process what had happened. I found comfort in the city at a time when very little made sense. Going back now to run the marathon in his memory feels incredibly significant.

In the final days of his life, I told Alex that I would carry him with me every day — in my heart, in my head and in my ears.

This is one way of doing that.