I ran the London Marathon on Sunday 26th April for my friend and colleague, Colin Bloomfield, who lost his battle against skin cancer on Saturday 25th April.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma 18 months ago. Having had skin cancer many years ago, he had always been vigilant about checking himself and he mentioned to me that he had found a pea-size lump near his groin. I and many others advised him to get it checked out straight away which he did the following day......what we didn't expect was the news that was to follow.

After receiving the news Colin remained amazingly positive, always very open about how he was feeling, what the Doctors were saying and how he felt about his uncertain future. He was a lovely guy to work with and I considered him to be a lovely friend. 

I received the devastating news of Colin's death on the Saturday morning as I was just about to get on my coach with fellow marathon runners to head down to London. The rest of the day became a surreal bubble filled with hundreds of messages from family, friends and BBC Radio Derby listeners showing overwhelming support and encouragement for me to still run the Marathon to make Colin proud.

It was always going to be the biggest challenge of my life and it was always for Colin, so running it just 24 hours after his death spurred me on even more. The London Marathon was my first marathon, it was an emotional roller coaster surrounded by overwhelming crowds, an amazing atmosphere and I knowing Colin was with me every step of the way kept me going.

For this, the 35th anniversary of the London Marathon, the organisers wanted the runners to recreate the moment the first ever winners back in 1981 ran across the finish line hand-in-hand.....well there was only one hand I was holding when I had that awesome moment outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall......I was holding Colin Bloomfield's hand.

I miss him so much already but the money raised is to go towards helping young children learn about the dangers of sun exposure and to hopefully prevent more people dying too young, like Colin Bloomfield. 

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