After 7 years of unsuccessful ballot entries I have amazingly and gratefully been given the opportunity to run the 2025 TCS London Marathon for The Andersons Foundation (because of the suggestion and nomination by my husband Karl). Not only am I doing this to raise much needed funds for local charities, I am doing this for my own mental health. This is going to be a turbulent journey of many highs and lows, pain and tears, self-doubt and determination, self-sabotage and positive self-talk. It’s going to be a rollercoaster. Grief can be a result of many different types of loss and not just the loss of a living person. I believe that whilst circumstances may be different, grief and sadness feels the same and no one persons sadness or grief is more important than another’s, and it takes a lot of strength to push through each day. But day by day, month by month it can get a little easier to cope with. So, with this in mind I want to do this marathon not only to support the charities so in need of your donations, but also to share my journey (not just the nice parts). Your support and donations will keep me going, reminding me of why I am doing this and who this may help.

One of the charities I will be running for is BASICS Essex, The Essex Emergency Medical Charity. Their highly trained volunteer doctors and paramedics respond to incidents at the request of East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, supplementing the outstanding service provided by our ambulance clinicians. Your support ensure they have the equipment they need to save lives and provide the necessary training to other volunteers to ensure our ambulance service is not overwhelmed and members of the public are not left untreated and uncared for. During a time of high mental ill-health and the unprecedented calls to support those during crisis, support for our ambulance service is higher than ever.

So please, please donate whatever you can, no denomination is too small, share my journey with your friends and family and follow me on my journey…. But can I ask that when you donate, you leave a motivating song in the comments that I can add to my training playlist (try not to chose something some else has already chosen) and this will ensure you are with me every step of the way, and of course if comfortable leave your name so I can thank you personally.

My target time is to complete within 5hours 15 minutes; however, to complete it without stopping would be a massive achievement.

Wish me luck! 😘