Fitness veteran Hannah Moafy, who generally leans more towards sprinting events than long distance, is running outside her comfort zone this April as she does battle with the London Marathon. Hannah was first persuaded to give long distance a try back in 2015, when she ran the 26.2 mile London marathon course that snakes alongside The Thames for the first time. This was in aid of Asthma UK, as the lung disease affects her and a range of family members, giving Hannah a real affinity with the cause. This year she is taking on the feat a second time in aid of Aspire, and her reasoning is equally personal.

Just over a year ago Sam Doble, a close family friend of Hannah’s, was participating a motorcycle track day and lost control of his bike whilst cornering at high speed. He was flung into a gravel trap and landed on his back at speed, breaking five vertebrae (as well as sustaining a long list of other trauma injuries). This left him paralysed from the chest down with a spinal cord injury. Hannah chose to run for Aspire as they “have been truly inspirational with Sam’s rehabilitation”. To this day Sam still uses Aspire’s gym as he did when he was first injured.

Though Hannah is no stranger to exercise, the sheer amount of training that is required to run a marathon is considered by some to be the hardest part of the entire challenge. To put this in perspective Hannah is training at the gym between four and five times a week and then goes on a long distance run every Sunday. However, her resolve to continue for Sam and for others who have been similarly paralysed is evident from the way she talks about her training:

“Let’s just say it hasn't been easy and there have been days when I have been in pain but it is nothing that a hot bath can't sort out!”

You can help Hannah reach her target here

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