I’m really excited to announce that I will be running the Tallinn half marathon in September and raising funds for my chosen charity Group B Strep Support.

Group B Strep Support (GBSS) is the world’s leading charity working to eradicate group B Strep infection in babies. Group B Streptococcus (GBS or Strep B) is the most common cause of severe infection in newborn babies, causing sepsis, pneumonia, or meningitis. Two babies on average develop GBS infection in the UK every day. Tragically one of those sick babies dies every week and one survivor is left with long-term disability.

Against these odds, I was a ‘lucky’ GBS baby. Given my obliviousness to the experience, my dad has shared the following to give you an understanding of why GBSS is my charity of choice for my half marathon.

‘After a long and difficult labour, my daughter was born floppy with laboured breathing, and was taken immediately into Intensive Care with a suspected infection. It was a highly distressing time for my wife and me but, as a result of the doctors' swift action with intravenous antibiotics, all was fine and, after 48 hours, we were allowed to take our daughter home. Some days later, however, we received a call from the hospital pathology department saying that our daughter was 'colonised' with 'group B Strep' (GBS), and that we should keep an eye of her for the next three months in case she started to become ill.

This added enormously to our worries. As new parents, my wife and I had never heard of GBS, nor did we know how to spot the difference between things like 'normal' and 'abnormal' crying, 'listlessness'(as opposed to natural tiredness) etc., that might indicate our daughter was becoming unwell.

In those difficult days, we were helped enormously by the charity, Group B Strep Support (GBSS), which provided us with immediate and invaluable information about the bacterium. Since that time, my wife and I have been keen supporters of the charity, maintaining links with the Chief Executive, and with me providing ad-hoc help as a volunteer.’

To make a meaningful difference and further support the fantastic work of GBSS, I'm reaching out to friends, family, and colleagues to kindly ask for your support through donations. Every contribution, no matter the size, will go a long way in helping GBSS continue their important work.

I truly appreciate any support you can provide, whether it's through a donation or sharing my fundraising page with your network!

Thank you!