I recently ran my first ever marathon in support of Cardiac Risk in the Young, for a fund in the memory of George Lavery, an Ipswich man who died suddenly from a heart condition in 2023. His family are raising funds for a heart screening event to come to Ipswich. I only started running two years ago with the Couch to 5K programme, so this was a big challenge for me.

The Halstead & Essex marathon is a small rural marathon, renowned for its hills (over 1,000 feet of elevation) and often hot conditions. Thankfully on the day it was cool and overcast, ideal for running. I completed the course in 5 hours 28 minutes. I am grateful for all the donations I received and even ran with the QR code on my back! Over £700 has been raised for George’s fund.

Thank you to everyone at CRY for your support over the last few months.