I run because it makes me better. And through running I can help make someone’s life better.

Last April, I crossed the finish line of the TCS London Marathon for Alzheimer's Research UK, running for my mother, who was diagnosed in 2020, and for my three children, who carry the same shadow of genetic risk I do. Every mile was a prayer. Watching someone you love lose their memories, piece by piece, teaches you that nothing, not a single moment, not a single opportunity, should be taken for granted.

That lesson is exactly why I am lacing up again.

This October, I will run the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Sevenoaks School. And this time, I'm running for possibility.

My daughter, Olivia, will join Sevenoaks in Year 9 in 2028. Our family is Brazilian, and we have made Britain our home with enormous gratitude. I grew up in a country where an education like the one Sevenoaks offers is the rarest of privileges, not because children lack talent or hunger or drive, but simply because the doors are closed to them before they ever get the chance to knock. I know what it means to be on the outside of those doors.

Sevenoaks School is approaching its 600th anniversary in 2032, six centuries of shaping extraordinary human beings. Its Foundation's most urgent priority right now is to significantly expand bursary support: to open those doors wider, and keep them open, for talented students who could thrive there but cannot afford to attend.

I believe that this is one of the most powerful things a school can do. Not just educate the children who arrive, but reach for the ones who aren't yet in the room.

Running 13.1 miles through the beauty of London's royal parks is, for me, a privilege. I don't take it lightly. I train for months, I push through discomfort, I think about who I'm running for and it makes every hard kilometer worth it.

This time, I'll be thinking about a girl somewhere who is as bright as my Olivia, as full of potential, and who just needs someone to believe in her future enough to invest in it.

If you can donate, no matter how much, you are part of that.

Thank you!