On a freezing January morning in windswept Wrekenton, a bunch of slightly unhinged runners from the famous Saltwell Harriers were busy setting up a cross-country race. Standard stuff for a North East Harrier League meeting in the 2024/25 season … until it wasn’t.

Just as runners started arriving and trying in vain to warm up, two tiny kittens were found crying in the thorn bushes. No idea how they got there. No idea how they survived. Just two little fighters, freezing and alone.

Thankfully, they were rescued (we're forever grateful to the Wallsend Harrier who heard their cries and spotted them), wrapped up, and taken to Brysons Animal Shelter where they were warmed up, fed, and given a proper chance at life. See the first photo in the gallery of them just after they were found. They must have been only 6-weeks old, so tiny and crying their little hearts out...

Meanwhile, we all carried on with the race… slipping through frozen mud, battling arctic winds, and pretending this is what we enjoy. But the real story? Those kittens.

The next day, no one seemed to care much about race times. It was all: “What happened to the kittens?”

The team at Brysons did what they do best—nursed them back to health. But it opened my eyes to something much bigger…

🐾 The UK is facing a real cat crisis...

- Abandoned cats have risen by over 30% in recent years

- Charities are helping over 150,000 cats every year

- Many shelters are now at full capacity, with animals waiting longer than ever for homes

- Rescue organisations are dealing with record numbers of animals, stretched to their limits

In short: there are more cats than there are homes.

A couple of weeks after the cross country race, me and my partner went to check on the Wrekenton two (now named Geoffrey and Shantel!)… and, well… we completely fell in love. We adopted them—officially upgrading our household and giving our running club two new mascots 🐾

So now, I’m running the London Marathon not just because I clearly enjoy suffering… but to support the incredible work shelters like Brysons do every single day, giving abandoned animals a second chance.

But this isn’t just about donating.

If we're truly a nation of animal lovers and want to tackle this crisis, we all have a role to play:

🐱 Please consider adopting, not buying—don’t fuel the demand for breeding when so many cats need homes

🐱 Encourage friends and family to neuter or spay their pets

🐱 Help spread awareness of the reality shelters are facing

If two tiny kittens can survive a freezing field in January, I can survive 26.2 miles. Probably.

If you can, please donate—and help give more animals their own happy ending ❤️

Geoffrey and Shantel are now around 16-months old (scroll through the photo gallery to see their development from kittens to fine young cats) and very much enjoying life. Brother and Sister and best mates (most of the time). They would be very grateful if you could repay the work Bryson's did in saving them by donating a few quid. They're also looking forward to this marathon thing being over so they don't get woken up by Laurie going on a stupidly early training run...