Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity

Martin's Run for Indy

Martin McBreen

Martin McBreen

My Story

As many of you know, Indy was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in July 2023 went through a gruelling 800 day treatment course for it before ringing the bell in September 2025. 

Over the 2.5 years of her course, Indy (now 5) attended the hospital almost every week for appointments, clinics and surgeries.

At the start of her treatment, she spent 7 weeks in the Schiehallion ward in Glasgow and a total of 150 nights over the whole time she was in active treatment. The charity helped make this a bit more bearable for all of us.

Some things they provide that make a huge difference include installing fold-down beds in the ward, which allowed my wife Marion and I to be with her when she needed us most. They have also decorated the ward to make it look more homely and welcoming.

They provide play resources to aid recovery and distract from the poking, prodding and invasive procedures; helping make rubbish times a lot more bearable. They play team are a fantastic resource who help keep kids entertained during long, boring days between treatments.

We were supported by the magnificent staff and volunteers at the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity and they've kindly agreed to let me run myself into the ground (figuratively, hopefully not literally) as their charity place for the 2026 London Marathon.  

April 2026 update - a huge thank you to everyone who has donated or sent well-wishes so far. Your support is invaluable and I'm forever grateful!

There's two ways of giving while potentially getting something back:

1. Pick a song for my marathon playlist: 

For a suggested donation of £2 per song, you can force me to listen to whatever you like during my stint round the city.

- Some rousing anthems to perk me up? Yes please!

- A concerto of Mongolian throat singing? Ok, I guess

- The entire Steps back catalogue? If you must

- Rick Roll me for an hour on repeat? I’ll curse you, but it’s your decision

The jukebox is yours!

I’ll need 5 hours’ worth of “music” or about 60 songs. 

Add your song of choice on this playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0WeBTIcHUfKM8xhE7v5VWg...

Massive thank you to everyone who has already donated - it's really appreciated. I look forward to seeing what delights you've got in store for me 😂

 2. Guess my marathon finish time and be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher for Tempura & Spudbuds!

Send me a message on facebook/text/carrier pigeon or put a note on your donation and I'll get you entered. I had a spreadsheet online but it only works on desktop unfortunately. 

To give an idea of the finish time, Min time (if everything goes well) - 03:55:00, Max time (slower than previous PB) - 05:15:00, Target - 04:30:00, Stretch target - 04:15:00

Thanks to the kindness of Tempura & SpudBuds and their new premises on Bank Street in Irvine, you could be in with the chance of winning a voucher for a free munch. They have kindly donated a £30 voucher which I will top up to £50 in total to get yourself an amazing meal.

All you need to do is guess the 30-second interval I will finish the marathon in, place a donation on the here (£2 suggested, but whatever you can afford), and whoever gets the exact time will be awarded the voucher.

Closest time wins, in the event of the closest time not being entered, the closest time that's faster than my actual time will win!

About the Glasgow Hospital Children's Charity 

The charity fund life-changing projects and services for the children and families treated at Scotland's largest children's hospital where over 500 children attend daily.

About us

The London Marathon has become an annual, inspiring and colourful fixture in the world’s sporting calendar since the inaugural race on 29 March 1981: a celebration of fun, fundraising and fancy dress.

Over the years more than a million people have completed the 26.2-mile course – which runs from Blackheath to The Mall, with a spectacular finish in front of Buckingham Palace, showcasing the very best that the capital city has to offer.

What’s more, these participants have raised over a billion pounds for charity and there have been countless amazing tales of human achievement throughout the event’s history – living up to its aim of helping participants ‘to have fun, and provide some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.

 

 

Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity

Raising for:

Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity
95%

Funded

  • Target
    £2,500
  • Raised so far
    £2,370
  • Number of donors
    96

My Story

As many of you know, Indy was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in July 2023 went through a gruelling 800 day treatment course for it before ringing the bell in September 2025. 

Over the 2.5 years of her course, Indy (now 5) attended the hospital almost every week for appointments, clinics and surgeries.

At the start of her treatment, she spent 7 weeks in the Schiehallion ward in Glasgow and a total of 150 nights over the whole time she was in active treatment. The charity helped make this a bit more bearable for all of us.

Some things they provide that make a huge difference include installing fold-down beds in the ward, which allowed my wife Marion and I to be with her when she needed us most. They have also decorated the ward to make it look more homely and welcoming.

They provide play resources to aid recovery and distract from the poking, prodding and invasive procedures; helping make rubbish times a lot more bearable. They play team are a fantastic resource who help keep kids entertained during long, boring days between treatments.

We were supported by the magnificent staff and volunteers at the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity and they've kindly agreed to let me run myself into the ground (figuratively, hopefully not literally) as their charity place for the 2026 London Marathon.  

April 2026 update - a huge thank you to everyone who has donated or sent well-wishes so far. Your support is invaluable and I'm forever grateful!

There's two ways of giving while potentially getting something back:

1. Pick a song for my marathon playlist: 

For a suggested donation of £2 per song, you can force me to listen to whatever you like during my stint round the city.

- Some rousing anthems to perk me up? Yes please!

- A concerto of Mongolian throat singing? Ok, I guess

- The entire Steps back catalogue? If you must

- Rick Roll me for an hour on repeat? I’ll curse you, but it’s your decision

The jukebox is yours!

I’ll need 5 hours’ worth of “music” or about 60 songs. 

Add your song of choice on this playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0WeBTIcHUfKM8xhE7v5VWg...

Massive thank you to everyone who has already donated - it's really appreciated. I look forward to seeing what delights you've got in store for me 😂

 2. Guess my marathon finish time and be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher for Tempura & Spudbuds!

Send me a message on facebook/text/carrier pigeon or put a note on your donation and I'll get you entered. I had a spreadsheet online but it only works on desktop unfortunately. 

To give an idea of the finish time, Min time (if everything goes well) - 03:55:00, Max time (slower than previous PB) - 05:15:00, Target - 04:30:00, Stretch target - 04:15:00

Thanks to the kindness of Tempura & SpudBuds and their new premises on Bank Street in Irvine, you could be in with the chance of winning a voucher for a free munch. They have kindly donated a £30 voucher which I will top up to £50 in total to get yourself an amazing meal.

All you need to do is guess the 30-second interval I will finish the marathon in, place a donation on the here (£2 suggested, but whatever you can afford), and whoever gets the exact time will be awarded the voucher.

Closest time wins, in the event of the closest time not being entered, the closest time that's faster than my actual time will win!

About the Glasgow Hospital Children's Charity 

The charity fund life-changing projects and services for the children and families treated at Scotland's largest children's hospital where over 500 children attend daily.

About us

The London Marathon has become an annual, inspiring and colourful fixture in the world’s sporting calendar since the inaugural race on 29 March 1981: a celebration of fun, fundraising and fancy dress.

Over the years more than a million people have completed the 26.2-mile course – which runs from Blackheath to The Mall, with a spectacular finish in front of Buckingham Palace, showcasing the very best that the capital city has to offer.

What’s more, these participants have raised over a billion pounds for charity and there have been countless amazing tales of human achievement throughout the event’s history – living up to its aim of helping participants ‘to have fun, and provide some happiness and sense of achievement in a troubled world’.