London Marathon 2026

Now, we're in a situation where cancer has got its way. My partner's brother, who has already battled cancer before as a child is now living with it terminally. And this just isn't fair. However, he's been receiving care at UCLH and the support him and his family have been given is a testament to the people working there who are willing to fight this awful disease. I strongly believe that cancer will be curable at some point in my life, and until then, I appreciate those who go above and beyond to support those fighting it.

As someone who for years said they'd never run unless someone was chasing them, I’ve found myself running several half marathons and 10ks, with two marathons coming up. Both marathons will be representing UCLH Cancer Fund, because I hope to do as much as I can to make cancer curable sooner.

I've been inspired to take on this challenge because we’ve been rocked by how cancer has affected us and those around us, and I can only imagine how much this feeling magnifies given how many people live with and fight cancer every day. And if I can raise money to eradicate it, I will try my best to do so.

Training has been very difficult (though, I still did my 34km long run!), but having something worth running for makes all the difference. And being able to wear the UCLH Cancer Fund vest will probably make me cry during it, but the feeling of representing something I believe in is all that matters to me.

Thus far, a lot of my fundraising has been thanks to my mum. Not only is she a carer for my dad, but every single Wednesday, she holds a coffee morning for older people in her local community, and a substantive part of that is using her talent as a baker to raise money for the Cancer Fund. For someone who has gone through so much, I'm very proud to say that my mum will not only be cheering me on the sidelines of the marathons, but will help me in fundraising for them too.

Finally, as someone who is now running for UCLH's Cancer Fund, I'd highly recommend it. Tori especially has made my fundraising journey so easy, and continues to check in on how my partner's brother is doing. It genuinely feels like we have just formed a team rather than me fundraising alone. I hope those of you reading this will also join the fundraising efforts that UCLH's Cancer Fund take part in. Even if you do a 5k, that's an insane effort, and one I still look back on as a huge undertaking when I first started. It's never too late, and what better reason to do so than the fight against cancer.