Sponsor Adam

I am running the London Marathon to give myself a fitness goal and help people less fortunate than myself.  I decided to run to support Aspire because I wanted to run for a charity that means something to me.

On 1st September 2024, I crashed out of Belvoir Castle Triathlon in spectacular style. In the seconds that followed I knew that this wasn't likely to end well. My fancy bike was mangled and my new helmet smashed to pieces, which most likely saved my life. I was taken by ambulance to Nottingham Queen’s HospitaI, where I was given the terrifying news that I had broken my C6 vertebrae near the base of my neck.

I stayed in hospital for several days on Morphine and Ketamine to ease the pain that went from hand to hand and all the way up my spine to the back of my head. I had an operation to fuse my C6 and C7 vertebrae. They installed a cage secured with titanium screws to replace the disc and hold the vertebrae secure to prevent damage to my spinal cord and stabilise my neck. When I woke up the pain that ran up my arms and back had gone (I still had the neck pain) and I realised how close I came to irreparable damage. Initially I was unable to turn my neck independently to my body and recovering was always going to be hard.

Months of physiotherapy and rebuilding strength followed. With the support of amazing family and friends, the parkrun community, West Suffolk Wheelers Cycle Club and Streets Ahead Swim Coaching, I started to return to sport; slowly at first but with a growing determination to prove to myself that I could cross the finish line of an epic event soon. With my fitness at an all-time low I decided to enter TCS London Marathon and I was honoured to be offered a place to run for Aspire.

I live with pain and discomfort every day along with the realisation it may never get better. I will never regain my pre-injury strength or mobility, but it could have been so much worse and I am forever grateful for that. I am fully aware that my story could have very different and I may have needed assistance from Aspire. 

I haven’t run a marathon before but I have run two half marathons. Running the London Marathon is a bucket list item. I have never really wanted to run a marathon before, but London is different, and I’m proving to myself that I can.

My fundraising is going OK but I’ve still got a long way to go! My original plans have been thwarted by being posted twice at work and having to build up a team again, along with some personal stuff.  My training is going ok but I’m realising it’s a long way!  I’m now following a plan and am confident I will complete it.

Sponsor Adam

Running events

How we help