We are running our first ever marathons—the Manchester Marathon on Sunday 19th April —and raising £800 plus together for the British Heart Foundation. We would be so grateful for your support.

MARTIN'S STORY

I have responded to multiple heart attacks and cardiac arrests, and heart disease has impacted my family personally. My dad has had several heart attacks over the years, and I’ve seen first-hand how suddenly life can change—not just for the person who’s ill, but for everyone who loves them. I’ve also seen what recovery really looks like: the fear, the hard work, and the support people need to rebuild their lives. The British Heart Foundation plays a major role in that through research, training, and ongoing support that gives families hope when they need it most.

Personally, the past four and a half years have been among the toughest of my life. COVID led to long COVID, and since then, I’ve been diagnosed with coeliac disease and, later, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). At the start, I could barely walk a few hundred yards without being out of breath. Some days I couldn’t do anything at all—and those days often stretched into weeks. Even now, CFS still hits hard. There are still days when I simply walk up the stairs, my heart pounds, and I’m left breathless. And days when recovery from anything takes… days!

But I’ve been fighting to rebuild myself—slowly, patiently—and learning to be kinder to myself along the way. Last year, I knew I needed something to aim for, a challenge that would pull me out of a physical and mental rut and help me find “me” again. It had to be genuinely outside my comfort zone. I’m not a natural long-distance runner, but I have supported athletes through long-distance events with S&C and nutrition support. So I signed up for the Manchester Marathon… and the couch-to-marathon programme began.

Not only am I supporting the BHF, but I’m also doing this for a few personal reasons. I’m doing it to keep fighting back against health conditions—physical and mental—and to prove to myself that I’m still here, still capable, still moving forward.

I’m doing it for all my friends who can no longer be with us. And as a reminder, even when things feel heavy, I, and we all can still take the next step.

I’m also doing this alongside my wife, who’s going from couch to marathon, too.

JULIANA'S STORY

Just after I turned 50, I found myself in the back of an ambulance, being blue-lighted to hospital as paramedics were unsure whether I'd had a heart attack. It was an extremely frightening experience and I was particularly terrified about leaving behind my three children. My paternal grandmother had passed away in middle age to a heart attack, and I remember thinking this at the time.

Fortunately, I discovered my heart was fine but I was informed that if I did not take action to reduce stress and anxiety, it would not be that unlikely that I would find myself back in hospital due to suffering a heart attack or stroke.

It was a sobering realisation to say the least. Since then, I have been undertaking a range of life changes. Last summer, I was at work and I received a message from my husband, who has had a number of health challenges since contracting Covid in 2021. The message simply asked if I would join him to raise money by running the marathon with him. I was with a colleague at the time and we had quite a laugh about it: it seemed like the least likely thing I would be able to do, not having ever run further than 5k and not even that for about five years. However, the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be an amazing thing to do, both in terms of contributing to a wonderful cause, but also for my own growth and fitness.

The BHF has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK, but sadly, every day, hundreds of people lose their lives. It's only thanks to support from people like us that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures. £24 could pay for two hours of research by an early-career scientist, but every pound helps, so please give what you can to help me hit my target. Thanks!

Please donate anything you can, however small. Every pound helps support research that saves lives, improves treatment, and gives families more time together. And on race day, knowing you’ve backed me will mean more than I can put into words—it’ll be the extra push when it really starts to hurt.

Thank you for reading, for supporting, and for being part of this with us.