On April 21st I am very excited and privileged to be running the London Marathon 2024 for the Bowel Research UK charity.

The main goal of Bowel Research UK is to save lives while also enabling people living with chronic bowel conditions to enjoy a much better quality of life.

There are over 40,000 new bowel cancers diagnosed each year in the UK. Bowel cancer is the UK's second leading cause for cancer-related deaths with over 16,000 people dying annually of a disease that can be preventable, treatable and curable.

I am a Consultant Surgeon (Good Hope Hospital: UHB NHS Foundation Trust) specialising in the treatment of both primary and recurrent bowel cancer. I feel extremely privileged as a surgeon to be able to treat and care for bowel cancer patients. Our patients are amazing and I am always in awe of their resilience and positivity during treatment.

I would like to do more to help our patients and their families by raising awareness and funds for a great cause whilst taking on the amazing challenge of running the London Marathon.

The money you donate will enable the charity to fund and support vital research to help improve the outcomes and quality of life for our patients.

Thanks again for reading my post,

Umar Shariff