My Story

Here we go again.

It's hard to say no when someone offers you the chance to take part in the London Marathon, even if there's only a couple of months left to train! So that's what I did, and it's what I'm doing.

It'll be my second attempt at tackling the London Marathon, and I'd like to think I'm older and wiser, and enjoy it more than I did the first time round. It really is a privilege.

Fundraising for Richmond Carers Centre

Preparing to take on a road marathon isn't easy, and I wanted to honour that challenge by being motivated by a meaningful fundraising cause.

My mother has dementia and is cared for on a full-time basis by my father. Whilst my mother has her ups and downs in terms of energy and spark, her life is relatively simple, with all her needs looked after by my father. The burden of her illness is carried almost exclusively by my father, which is why it's been so important for him to find support for his own mental health.

That's where Richmond Carers Centre comes in. My father has attended events that they've organised, where he's been able to meet and talk to people who are going through the same thing as him, and it's meant a lot to him. I chose this charity because it has made a positive difference to his life - and so by extension to my mother's, and to my sister's, and to mine. It means a lot to be able to support a small charity that might be able to do the same for other families going through the same experiences as us.