Distance running isn’t something I have ever done before. In fact, the furthest I had run before I began training for the marathon was 5km.  As I am only 19, I haven’t had the opportunity to enter a marathon before and so running such a long distance is completely new to me.  

I wanted to run for Aspire because I feel very passionate about the work they do, and I hope to make a small difference to the lives of people with a spinal cord injury.

Through my fundraising I hope I am also helping to raise some awareness of the impact of spinal cord injury.  

When my mum was 21, she was involved in a car accident that left her with a broken neck and partially severed spinal cord and paralysed from the neck down. She underwent two major surgeries to restructure her spine. Fortunately, my mum was able to regain movement in her legs and she spent a lot of time in intense physiotherapy to learn to walk again. However, the doctors were never able to say whether she would regain movement in her upper body.

My mum never gave up hope though and she would endlessly will her fingers to move and one day, very slightly, they did. When my mum left the hospital, the London Marathon was on. Despite my mum still being in a wheelchair and only weighing five stone at this point, she told herself that she would run that Marathon one day and she has since run it three times. Her determination is such an inspiration to me, and I am so proud to be taking on this challenge for her and the many other people who live with spinal cord injuries. 

My mum’s experience has motivated me to run for Aspire as I believe what she went through highlights the need for charities which support those with spinal cord injuries.  

Due to Covid it has been difficult to organise any fundraising events, which is something I would have loved to have done, but my fundraising is going well so far and I have received amazing support from those close to me.

My training has been very steady and I am really enjoying it. I have had a few setbacks, such as contracting Covid and injuring my ankle, but luckily I started my training quite early and have been able to come back from these and keep going with my training. It has certainly been a challenge but I have such a fantastic support system around me and I am really enjoying pushing myself to do something new. 

I am so looking forward to Marathon day!  It will be so great to finally have my hard work pay off but also, whether people are running or supporting, I think it will be so inspiring to have everyone back together. 

I would like to say a massive thank you to Aspire for not only offering me the opportunity to run the Marathon for them but for the incredible work they continue to do to change the lives of those with spinal cord injuries. I am so grateful to be able to do this for such an amazing charity. 

Sponsor Amber 

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