My Story

Hey everyone!

I am delighted to once again be partnering with Dementia UK to take on the 2024 London Marathon! 

As most of you know in 2020, following the outbreak of Covid-19, I lost my grandma after her long battle with dementia. Watching her condition deteriorate over six years due to this horrific disease left me and my family heartbroken and helpless.

This inspired me to run the 2021 London Marathon in her memory, giving my ballot place to Dementia UK and raising money for this incredible charity along the way.

However, since then another member of my family has been diagnosed with the disease, and the cycle has begun again for my loved ones.

Dementia can affect a person at any age but it’s more common in people over the age of 65.

There are over 200 subtypes of dementia. The most common are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia.

By 2025, it’s estimated that over one million people in the UK will have a diagnosis of dementia – and almost all of us will know someone living with the condition.

My aim is to help Dementia UK provide more specialist Admiral Nurses for families who need them. 

When things get challenging or difficult, Admiral Nurses work alongside people with dementia, and their families: giving them one-to-one support, expert guidance and practical solutions. The unique dementia expertise and experience an Admiral Nurse brings is a lifeline – it helps families to live more positively with dementia in the present, and to face the challenges of tomorrow with more confidence and less fear.

Once again I will be running in memory of my grandma, Barbara Deane, and in support of families like my own who continue to be affected by Dementia.

This will be the 18th marathon I will have faced, and I am determined to beat my personal best time of 3:58:21. Therefore the training will be intense, following a 17-week advanced plan running five times per week.

Please join me on my journey and help me to make a difference!