I’m running the London Marathon primarily because of my friend Seb who sustained a high C3/4 complete injury while we were at medical school together. Seeing first-hand the challenges that can come with a spinal cord injury has really brought home how life-changing the right support can be.  Seb’s resilience, determination and positivity are incredibly inspiring, and it made me want to do something meaningful to support others facing similar challenges.

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Running the London Marathon felt like a way to push myself while raising money for Aspire as they gave Seb help with assistive technology and Your Fund. Seb and I bonded a lot over sport (I am a keen tennis player and he played a lot of rugby at the time). Recently while he’s been recovering at home, we watched a lot of the Winter Olympics. Seb has been such a support training for my London Marathon, this means so much to both of us.

Running has been a big part of my life for several years as I come from a family of runners. I’ve taken part in long-distance events before and enjoy the discipline and resilience that training builds. I use it as a stress relief mechanism while at medical school and it is something I am so lucky to be able to do.

I haven’t run the London Marathon before, so this will be my first time taking on this iconic race. Last year I ran the Paris Marathon for Aspire, which was an amazing experience and definitely sparked my love for long-distance running. I’m excited to experience the atmosphere of London which - having been to support others run - I know is completely unforgettable. I was also born the day of the London Marathon back in 2003 where one of our family friends came second so it has always been a big deal in my family!

I wanted to run for Aspire again because their work supporting people with spinal cord injuries is incredibly inspiring. Their focus on helping people regain independence and rebuild their lives after injury really resonated with me, having seen my friend Seb go through this himself at such a young age. The practical support they provide from housing to assistive technology makes a huge difference, and I wanted to contribute to an organisation that has such a tangible impact.

My training has been going well so far. It’s definitely a big commitment on top of studying medicine, but I’m really enjoying the process and gradually building up the mileage. Some runs are tougher than others, but it’s exciting to see the progress week by week. Knowing that the training is all leading up to race day and helping raise money for Aspire keeps me motivated.

My fundraising has been going really well and I’ve been overwhelmed by how generous and supportive people have been. Friends, family and individuals from our medical school have all been incredibly encouraging, and it’s been motivating to see donations come in and know that people are backing both the challenge and the reason for taking it on.

Alongside sharing my fundraising page, I have organised a big pub quiz at my university, done a cafe morning with my cycling club as well as through my medical school. It’s been great talking to people about the marathon and the work Aspire does, and I’m hoping to organise a few additional fundraising activities to help reach my target.

Running the London Marathon will be incredibly special as it is where I have been throughout medical school meeting some of my closest friends, including Seb. It is that much more special as our medical student community will all be able to come and support me as I run for our very special Seb and Aspire. Having Seb be there will be so special as it signifies just how far he has come in his recovery. For me, it will be a celebration of all the months of training and fundraising, and above all knowing that every mile is helping support Aspire and people who sustain spinal cord injury in any phase of life.

I am running because Spinal Cord Injury can affect anyone. Raising awareness of this means just as much as the fundraising itself. Crossing that finish line will mean so much, it’s something I am so lucky to be able to do and I absolutely won’t take that for granted. I am so proud of Seb and how far he has come in his recovery, thanks to the work that Aspire does. 

I feel really grateful to have the opportunity to run the London Marathon while supporting such an important cause close to my heart. A huge thank you to everyone who has donated, supported my fundraising, or helped motivate me through training listening to all my complaints about early mornings, cold runs and runs in the constant rain for the first half of the block. It really means a lot, and I’m so excited to take on the challenge on race day.

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