Haemochromatosis UK

Ross's page

Mara Mia! Here We Go Again

Mara Mia! Here We Go Again

My Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my fundraising page. In April I will be participating in the TCS London Marathon 2026. Apparently running my first marathon in May last year wasn't quite enough to deter me from running another, and having turned 40 in September means I now officially have to select my middle-aged vice.  Them's the rules.  In lieu of an interest in owning a sports car, and due to looking awful in Lycra (and thus rendering cycling a non-starter from the jump), long distance running it is!

To add a bit of purpose behind it all, and for this to not just be an exercise in masochism, I'm looking to raise funds for Haemochromatosis UK.  Haemochromatosis is a genetic condition where the body doesn't process iron as it should, leading to a gradual build up over the years. Initial presenting symptoms, such as fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, mood swings, joint pain can often go unnoticed or misdiagnosed, resulting in people with the condition not getting the treatment required. This can lead to further buid up of iron in the body, resulting in some pretty severe health complications like liver cirrhosis, heart disease and diabetes.  In the most pronounced cases, those complications can prove fatal.

**Spoiler Alert** I have skin in the game, having being diagnosed with the condition in 2023.  I consider myself fortunate to have been diagnosed at a relatively young age, with no/minimal damage to my organs, and have since been able to get the treatment I need to continue to protect my organs and manage the condition. However, I did, and still do experience symptoms and have to continue to manage them, get regular treatment and monitor the condition for the rest of my life: being able to get through a training plan and to the start line is an achievement in itself for me (nothing like running a marathon to combat the constant fatigue, eh?).  Others are much less fortunate, and raising awareness of the condition can make a difference in helping people to get the early diagnosis and treatment required to avoid those most serious of consequences.

Haemochromatosis is regularly cited as one of the most common genetic conditions in the UK, but often goes under- or mis-diagnosed, and knowledge of the condition within the wider public is limited.  Haemochromatosis UK's work in raising awareness and providing information, guidance and resources to the public and health care professionals is therefore invaluable. They were a huge help in providing me with the tools and support to advocate for my own diagnosis and accelerating treatment. They are a small charity, and so any donation you could make would be greatly appreciated...and make my efforts not be completely worthless! Just to give you an idea of some of the things your donations could enable:

  • £10 allows the charity to support and advise those calling their helplines
  • £50 means they can send out one hospital information pack, helping ten patients
  • £250 means that can produce and distribute a free webinar for people with the condition
  • £1000 means they can provide training for their volunteer Helpliners, who help an average of 800 people each year.  

a woman sitting at a table talking to a man who says money pleeeeease

More information can be found here:

https://www.haemochromatosis.org.uk/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/haemochromatosis/

Should you be similarly dull like me and be obsessed with Strava, feel free to add me and follow my training journey / mock my slow turtle times as the event creeps closer. 

Haemochromatosis UK

Raising for:

Haemochromatosis UK
109%

Funded

  • Target
    £2,000
  • Raised so far
    £2,186
  • Number of donors
    69

My Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my fundraising page. In April I will be participating in the TCS London Marathon 2026. Apparently running my first marathon in May last year wasn't quite enough to deter me from running another, and having turned 40 in September means I now officially have to select my middle-aged vice.  Them's the rules.  In lieu of an interest in owning a sports car, and due to looking awful in Lycra (and thus rendering cycling a non-starter from the jump), long distance running it is!

To add a bit of purpose behind it all, and for this to not just be an exercise in masochism, I'm looking to raise funds for Haemochromatosis UK.  Haemochromatosis is a genetic condition where the body doesn't process iron as it should, leading to a gradual build up over the years. Initial presenting symptoms, such as fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, mood swings, joint pain can often go unnoticed or misdiagnosed, resulting in people with the condition not getting the treatment required. This can lead to further buid up of iron in the body, resulting in some pretty severe health complications like liver cirrhosis, heart disease and diabetes.  In the most pronounced cases, those complications can prove fatal.

**Spoiler Alert** I have skin in the game, having being diagnosed with the condition in 2023.  I consider myself fortunate to have been diagnosed at a relatively young age, with no/minimal damage to my organs, and have since been able to get the treatment I need to continue to protect my organs and manage the condition. However, I did, and still do experience symptoms and have to continue to manage them, get regular treatment and monitor the condition for the rest of my life: being able to get through a training plan and to the start line is an achievement in itself for me (nothing like running a marathon to combat the constant fatigue, eh?).  Others are much less fortunate, and raising awareness of the condition can make a difference in helping people to get the early diagnosis and treatment required to avoid those most serious of consequences.

Haemochromatosis is regularly cited as one of the most common genetic conditions in the UK, but often goes under- or mis-diagnosed, and knowledge of the condition within the wider public is limited.  Haemochromatosis UK's work in raising awareness and providing information, guidance and resources to the public and health care professionals is therefore invaluable. They were a huge help in providing me with the tools and support to advocate for my own diagnosis and accelerating treatment. They are a small charity, and so any donation you could make would be greatly appreciated...and make my efforts not be completely worthless! Just to give you an idea of some of the things your donations could enable:

  • £10 allows the charity to support and advise those calling their helplines
  • £50 means they can send out one hospital information pack, helping ten patients
  • £250 means that can produce and distribute a free webinar for people with the condition
  • £1000 means they can provide training for their volunteer Helpliners, who help an average of 800 people each year.  

a woman sitting at a table talking to a man who says money pleeeeease

More information can be found here:

https://www.haemochromatosis.org.uk/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/haemochromatosis/

Should you be similarly dull like me and be obsessed with Strava, feel free to add me and follow my training journey / mock my slow turtle times as the event creeps closer.