WHY I donate...

I never used to be a runner, and other than setting up random direct debits, I never used to do anything for charity. Now I run nearly 3,000km a year, annually raise £10-15,000 for several charities, including Cancer Research and the Family Holiday Association, and in October, with Charitable Travel, I’m launching A-Rosa River Cruises’ Run the River challenge on the Danube.

It all started when I was diagnosed, completely out of the blue, with Leukaemia. I’d started to run a bit and dreamt of running a half marathon, so I was really happy when I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon. It felt great, and smoked, I didn’t drink, and I’d only discovered running a year before.

Through my private healthcare provided through my job, I had the chance to take a health MOT. Feeling as good as I did, when the tests came back to say I had Leukaemia it was such a shock, it was horrendous.

I was diagnosed with Leukaemia early on in the Covid pandemic, when there wasn’t a vaccine and a common cold could have killed me, let alone

Covid. What kept me going when I was in hospital was the thought of being back out in the park and doing something for somebody else – other than my immediate family – and telling my story and inspiring people.

The moment I was off chemo and allowed to just go for a walk in the park I restarted my training, which was so hard! People had said to me, ‘Never mind running a kilometre or two, you won’t be able to walk,’ which I’d dismissed as rubbish, having regularly run 20km, but of course my body had been taken to a place where it needed a lot of retraining and healing.

To overcome this, I’d go out every single day and train in a mask – and not just one of those light ones but one of the proper full-on surgical ones – because I was at such high risk. As my strength returned I started to enter various short races, then bigger ones, but the turning point came when I got involved with the Family Holiday Association. I came across the charity via A-Rosa’s connection with the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Our trade body works closely with this charity that helps disadvantaged families who haven’t had the luxury of even a day’s holiday in their life, and it quickly became very dear to my heart.

Less than eight months after my chemo I ran the London Marathon for the Family Holiday Association, and now run a big event each month, for them and for Cancer Research. Our Run the River challenge is the logical next step in helping others.

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My illness is quite a tricky one. I’m in remission but every three months I have complex checks and I know I’m living on borrowed time. But running, raising money, and inspiring people to get out there to do what they need to do keeps me going.

I feel free when I’m running and after a run I feel like I can handle anything; it gives me a sort of superpower.