We started fundraising for CRY in Spring of 2017. At this point we had signed up for 3 10km runs across the summer. We chose CRY following the sudden death of James Moorfoot (aged 28) whilst playing football. This was due to undiagnosed heart problem.

After our 1st 10km the running bug had really bit me and my husband, who had been running for a year, wanted a bigger challenge. My husband had starting running a year prior to me, following the sudden passing of his father, due to a heart attack.

A drunk conversation occurred, when I was on a hen do and my husband was out with the boys of doing the “big one”. We followed a “running plan” for 3 weeks and decided to go for it! Brighton 2018 was booked!

The last year has been mentally and physically exhausting, and has been far from an easy journey. For the first time in both of our lives we were running on holiday! 3 weeks before race day, my marathon dream was nearly over, a nasty fall (whilst running), the result was a broken nose and a deep cut under my eye requiring 6 stitches. Thankfully I was given the all clear to run once my stitches were out, but I had lost a weeks training. And… my husband injured his calf 10days before the marathon whilst swimming, thankfully nothing a sports massage and some KT couldn’t fix.

So after the best part of a years training it was race day, for both of us it was a gruelling journey around Brighton. My husband posted a respectable 4:25:08 and I finished on 6:02:10.

Our first marathon is done, but it won’t be our last.

Ellie & Colin