Robs London Marathon

This year, after 7 years of trying, I have finally secured a place for the London Marathon. I know how lucky I am to have a starting spot and as a result I want to make the opportunity count .

Joseph (my son) was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) specifically Ulcerative Colitis in September 2019 aged just 10. This is a chronic, lifelong condition which requires daily medication and frequent hospital visits for Joseph. It is not a pleasant disease (are any?) and at its worst it can have a devastating impact on on daily life. Currently there is no cure. Joseph is on his 5th line of treatment since diagnosis which is involving more and more hospital visits and treatment variations - it's hard for a teenager to manage this alongside 'normal life'. I will be running to raise awareness and money for two charities connected to this disease and of course I will be running for Joseph.

My first charity is CICRA, a pro active and positive force against IBD in children, funding groundbreaking research into causes of the disease and treatments specifically for young people. CICRA also offer a variety of support systems to all affected families in the UK at the point of diagnosis onwards. We have directly benefitted from this support as a family and will continue to do so. Raising funds for this charity ensures ground breaking research can continue, and the much needed family support remains available to all who need it, whenever that might be.

My second charity is the Oxford Hospitals Charity specifically the paediatric gastroenterology team. Money raised will be earmarked for items which will benefit children receiving treatment like Joseph. The paediatric gastroenterology team compromises Doctors, specialist nurses, play specialists, psychologists and dieticians and they have all played a hugely supportive role in the care Joseph has received since diagnosis. We are eternally grateful for this. Running the marathon and raising money for this fantastic team is my way of saying 'Thank you' to them all.

Times are tough, money is tight and I know people support many wonderful and worthwhile charities but....I promise this is my one and only shot at a fundraising marathon so while big donations are absolutely welcome, honestly if you can spare the cost of a pint and share this page, it would mean a huge amount to me. Every donation will tell Joseph you are supporting him, it will spur me on in my training and on the day itself and it will help two fantastic charities carry on the invaluable work they are doing. Thank you so much.