My Story

I am running the 2025 London Marathon and this is my fundraising page!

As some of you may know I took up running in January 2024 as a hobby, but also to tackle stress and improve my physical and mental health. 
1 year and 1200km later and I wouldn't go short of saying that running has changed my life! 

Last year I completed a half marathon. I trained hard leading up to this and really enjoyed it.

Since then I have enjoyed running most days in some form. My longest run to date is around 15 miles. So although I'm a regular runner, the 26.2miles will be a huge challenge! And I'll be pushing limits I've not tried before. 
I am extremely lucky and honoured to be offered a place to run the London Marathon this year for Haven House Children's Hospice . 
The hospice cares for seriously ill babies and children by creating a loving and warm environment for them and their families while they go through the toughest of times. No family should have to face alone the difficulties of looking after a child with a serious illness and Haven House does all it can to prevent this.

Haven House is hugely important to my family, as it directly supports my sister and her husband Harry, with their son and my nephew, Rudy. 

Rudy was born in 2020 with an ultra rare condition known as MCAHS1 (PIGN-1). This stands for “Multiple Congenital Anomalies Hypotonia and Seizures”. Needless to say with such medical complexities Rudy requires round the clock care and specialist support. 
Haven House provide his mum and dad with a break from caring, by offering over night respite stays for Rudy at the hospice. Here he is looked after by nurses and trained professionals, giving our family peace of mind that he’s in the safest of hands. 
They also provide fun and therapeutic classes such as specialist music and yoga sessions. The type of classes that Rudy otherwise would not be able to access. They are a lifeline to many local families, including ours. 

 Haven House rely heavily on fundraising and charitable donations to continue the incredible care and support. As a family we can vouch for how the money is used so I've never been more determined to raise as much as possible for this wonderful cause. 

Anything you can give will go a long way and also spur me on to do Haven House and my superstar Nephew proud.  

Rudy is a daily inspiration for me. And when life gets tough I never fail to take strength from him and the challenges he has already over come in his life.  
Often when I do not fancy going out for a run I think of Rudy and think of how incredibly lucky I am to have the opportunity to do so. I always then get myself out there running! ....... For me and for him 💙

I'll be doing regular updates regarding training and fundraising on this page. I'll also be open to fundraising events should anyone have any ideas :)

 I've also made a dedicated instagram account for anyone to track my progress and follow my Strava account. 

Please click the link below and follow:

https://www.instagram.com/joe_runs__?igsh=MXdyaW14a2FleGlwMQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Wish me luck and I'll hopefully see you out on streets of London on the 27th April!

Thank you for taking your time to read this!

Joe x