20 years ago….in November 2005, I ran my first (and at that time, what I said would be my last!) marathon. In New York, with my best friend, Abi.

In her own words, I dragged her round the last ten miles and she said she’d never run a marathon again. As many of you know, she moved to Fernie in Canada soon after, met Mike, and the rest is history - she ran several marathons after our first (a good 40 minutes faster!), holds multiple course records in the ultras around Canada, and set up a running club and events company, Stag Leap Running.

Tragically, Abi was killed in a road accident last year, in July 2024.

Twenty years on, I’m dusting off the marathon trainers, and taking on the five boroughs of New York again - on November 2, 2025.

I’m raising money for Snow Camp. Abi and I met skiing in our first term at uni, and were lucky enough to spend lots of time in the mountains, and on the dry ski slopes of the UK. Abi had learned to ski and race from a young age in the Highlands of Scotland, and me on the English dry slopes.

For those of you who had the privilege of knowing Abi, skiing was one of many sports that she put her mind to - but what combined them all was a passion for getting outside, getting moving, setting a personal challenge, and bringing people together. This legacy lives on in Fernie, and way beyond. And it’s why Snow Camp felt like a perfect cause for this challenge.

Since 2003, Snow Camp have been turning young lives around with the power of snowsports. Using a unique combination of skiing, snowboarding, life-skills, qualifications and vocational opportunities, Snow Camp's dedicated team positively impacts the lives of over 1000 underprivileged young people across the UK, leaving them feeling inspired & empowered to go onto many other positive destinations in the snowsports industry and beyond.

Supporting Snow Camp’s life-changing work felt like a really fitting tribute to Abi. And something that will hopefully spur me on around the 26 miles of New York.