Two years ago I suffered a severe DVT and after a traumatic week that I would prefer not to remember, I was transferred to the wonderful John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for an emergency thrombectomy to remove the clot.

Having never experienced pain like it, and due to some poor communication, I spent the ambulance journey thinking I was going in for an operation to have my leg amputated and coming to terms with the impact this would have on someone like me who enjoys endurance sports.

By the time I arrived for my operation, I had made the big decision that I would prefer to have a robot leg rather than a prosthetic, so you can imagine how shocked I was when they used a new operating technique to simply remove the clot and insert a couple of stents. The physio had me walking and climbing stairs again the very next day, albeit very slowly.

Now, anyone who knows me could have predicted what would happen next, but for those who do not… I wanted to run again. After a few weeks of building up my ability to walk without crutches, I tried. At first, I managed a slow 500 m and built up from there. Every run felt like a gift, and I promised myself I would get up to 5 km so I could at least join the Park Run community. But I did not stop there. I kept pushing and six months later I completed 403 laps of a running track and my longest ever run of 100 miles in one day.

About eight months later, I secured a ballot place at the London Marathon 2026 and I thought it would be fitting to raise money for Thrombosis UK. I ran London in 2019 and whilst I was delighted with my time, I look back on the day and realise I was so focused that I did not really take it all in. To avoid that happening again, this year I decided to run dressed as Optimus Prime, as it is two years since I thought I would have a robot leg.

And to make things more interesting, I am going to try to beat Buzz Lightyear’s current record as ‘Fastest Marathon Dressed as a 3D Toy’.

Wish me luck!