Lisbon Marathon 2022

Hi All,

Thank you for taking the time to visit this page! Firstly for those of you who know me you will all know that the one thing I am not built for is running, and certainly not Marathon running either.

But this year I have decided to sign up for the Lisbon Marathon, taking place on Sunday 9th October 2022.
My good friend Matthew Simpson has willingly agreed to join me in completing this challenge and we will be supporting each other every step of the way, running to raise money for two charities very close to our hearts.

We wanted there to be some enjoyment along the way, hence choosing Lisbon as our venue, to enjoy some fantastic scenery and hopefully some warmer climate than the UK has to offer in October!

Next...the reason why. So here it goes...

The first charity we will be raising money for is the MS Society. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that affects your brain and spinal cord. In MS, the coating that protects your nerves (myelin) is damaged. This causes a range of symptoms like blurred vision and problems with how we move, think and feel.

MS is a charity very close to my heart and an illness that has impacted on mine and my families life to date since a very young age.
Whilst pregnant with me, my mother Selena was diagnosed with MS, a condition that would impact her greatly as life moved on, in particular during my teenage years, where the condition took its tole on her physically as she became wheelchair bound and eventually bed bound, having lost mobility in her legs due to the damage the illness caused.

Back in June 2018 as a result of this cruel illness, my mother sadly passed away at the age of just 58, leaving a huge hole in all of our lives.

I am also raising money for MS in support of my wonderful Auntie Emily who is also an MS sufferer and continues to battle and fight this illness day by day, with nothing but strength, bravery and determination to not be beaten.

Both of these women are truly inspirational to me and are a huge driving force behind me taking on this challenge.

The second charity we are raising money for is called 4Louis. This is another charity very close to my heart and one that with the story Matthew can also relate to with his family history.

4Louis is a UK charity that works across the country to support anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of a baby or child. They donate fantastic memory boxes all across the country to be used by families who find themselves in this awful situation to provide some valuable keepsakes and memories of their precious babies. They also provide beautiful Moses baskets and cold cots that enable you to spend those last precious moments with your little angel.

Back in 2021 myself and my partner Mica went through the heart-breaking pain of losing our beautiful son Albie Garvey, who was stillborn prematurely following some complications in our pregnancy journey.

We found the memory box 4Louis provided to us to be extremely comforting and gave us some valuable keepsakes to remember our beautiful little boy. A gift that all families who find themselves in this situation should be able to use to offer some valuable support during a difficult time. The cold cot also allowed Mića & I to spend those last precious moments with Albie that we will cherish forever.

As a close childhood friend of mine, Matthew witnessed first hand the effects of MS can have and would love other families to benefit from what 4Louis can provide as something that would have supported him and his family when his angel nephew Joshua sadly passed away. This is why Matthew is choosing to raise money for these two fantastic charities.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story!

Any donations you can make, big or small are greatly appreciated and go a long long way to helping others who need the support of these fantastic causes in the future.

Wish us luck.....

Lewis and Matthew