My Story

For the London Marathon 2025, I'm raising funds for Versus Arthritis, a UK-based charity that supports research, care, and awareness around arthritis and other joint diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.

My goal is to support research by raising funds and to increase awareness about this disease by sharing the emotional journey that follows a diagnosis, along with the uncertainties it brings. It’s important to highlight that this disease doesn’t only affect older people; many, like me, are diagnosed as early as their 30s. Early diagnosis is crucial for slowing its progression.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TkZ-s7doSPY&time_continue=1&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fleilavalentine26.wixsite.com%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fleilavalentine26.wixsite.com

My Story:

In the winter of 2022/2023, after recovering from double pneumonia and experiencing joint pain in my hands and feet, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a degenerative autoimmune disease that attacks the joints.

Running has become essential to maintaining my balance and well-being over the past few years. When I received the diagnosis, I was overwhelmed by a range of emotions: confusion, loneliness, anger... I withdrew, feeling isolated by this new reality, fearing I might never be able to run again.

I told myself that if I ever ran a marathon, it would have to be London—one of the world’s seven major marathons, where I’ve lived for the past three years. I would do it to support research into rheumatoid arthritis, raise awareness among those around me, and share my story.

To share my message in the best way possible, both in London and Switzerland, I reached out to my friends Anthony Tache and Sacha Voeffray, who recently founded FrameOfMind: a creative studio specialising in Narrative Brand Content (IG: @frameofmind.services). They took the time to listen, understand, and helped me express the emotions I wanted to share through this video.

Since I started talking about this fundraising project, I’ve discovered other people affected, directly or indirectly, by the disease. With great empathy, they’ve come forward to share their stories and express their gratitude.

I am thrilled about this journey and look forward to sharing with you the steps of my training and the progress of my fundraising campaign.

A big thank you to everyone who wishes to support me in this journey.

Valentine