On 26th April 2026 I am going to be running the London Marathon. This will be a huge challenge for me as I have never run more than a Half Marathon before, and since 2013 I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I have chosen to use this opportunity of running the London Marathon to fundraise for the charity Overcoming MS.

The London Marathon is an iconic event and one which I’d often watched on TV (except in 1998, when my 2nd son Robert, decided he would arrive early!). I was always full of admiration for those taking part, but never really considered doing it myself, even though I was quite active & sporty. I did take up running briefly in my late 30s in order to run the Bristol Half Marathon for charity. However, I let it slip and only started again 20 years later in 2023 to take part in a "Park Run for Susannah", the girlfriend of my youngest son Robert who tragically died in a cycling accident. Susannah was an inspiration to all who knew her. As well as all her other talents she loved running, and I had the privilege of accompanying Robert to watch her run the London Marathon in 2023. I will always remember her smile and her cheery wave as she ran past us on her way to a 3 hour17 marathon! It is Susannah that has inspired me to start running again.

Having started with that 5k in 2023, I have gone on to run 10ks and the Bristol Half Marathon again. Since moving back to the UK and post MS, running (alongside Pilates) has become my preferred physical activity.

It was in 2013, whilst living and working as a Pilates teacher in France that I was diagnosed with MS. This discovery completely turned my world upside down. From being a very active and healthy working mum of 2 teenage boys, Samuel & Robert, I suddenly found myself in hospital unable to walk on my own, no feeling down one side of my body and terrible vision.

Once I had recovered from this initial episode and received the diagnosis of relapsing remitting MS, David (my husband) and I started looking for ways of managing the disease. We came across the work of an Australian doctor George Jelinek which was in the very early days of the Overcoming MS charity.

The Overcoming MS programme is research-based and promotes a lifestyle approach to the management of the disease. There are 2.5 million people worldwide with multiple sclerosis, and it is one of the most common disabling conditions amongst young adults. But there is hope beyond a diagnosis of MS. Overcoming MS is the world’s leading multiple sclerosis self-management charity. The vision is that everyone with MS can lead the fullest life possible, using the practical, proven and positive OMS Self-Management Programme.

I strongly believe that it was due to the programme, particularly the control it gave me over the management of my disease, that I was able to continue my reasonably active lifestyle, albeit with some changes. I began fund-raising for Overcoming MS in France, I wanted to prove to myself that I could still do the things that I enjoyed doing, which at the time was cycling. On ‘International Day for MS’ in 2015, I cycled up Mont Ventoux, with a friend and former French world cycling champion, Marion Clignet. Mont Ventoux is one of the infamous climbs that often features in The Tour de France. To date, that is the hardest physical challenge I have ever done. However, I am sure that the London Marathon will be an even greater challenge for me, and I am 10 years older than I was then!

Thank you for your support and generosity.