I am running the London Marathon 2026 in support of the Lily Foundation. Many of you have been kind enough to support me in the past for a cause which is incredibly close to my heart.

My motivation and inspiration is Poppy Kitto, the 15 year old daughter of some close friends, Kat and James. Poppy suffers from mitochondrial disease, for which there is no treatment and no cure.

I have known Poppy since the day she was born. Despite the first couple of years of her life being seemingly normal, since being diagnosed with mitochondrial disease Poppy has lost many of the functions that we take for granted in life. She is severely physically impacted and is unable to talk, eat or move independently. These are all things that she was able to do at one point in her life but which have been taken away from her by this debilitating and progressive disease.

In its simplest terms, having mitochondrial disease means that the batteries in Poppy's cells aren't powerful enough to enable her body to function as normal.

I am in awe of Poppy, James, Kat and Poppy's sister Lily for the way they deal with such a challenging condition and yet maintain such a positive outlook on life. Despite her challenges, Poppy has a smile which lights up a room, and she is a massive inspiration to me to get out and support such a wonderful charity.

The Lily Foundation works tirelessly to fund research into mitochondrial disease, drive awareness and support impacted families. They rely on fundraising events like this to be able to operate, and as such I would be hugely grateful if you would consider sponsoring me to help support the amazing work that they do.

You can watch a short video of how young adults' lives are affected by mitochondrial disease here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZlX7gfyA8A

Thank you!

Tom