This will be my first marathon. I’ve lived in London for eight years so I’ve been to watch it and have always wanted to run it. I’ve always been a keen runner but never done anything longer than a 10k before I started training for the London Marathon!  Now my long Sunday training runs are as long as 24k.  I love running for lots of reasons; it’s really good for my mental health, but also gives me an opportunity to see different parts of the city I wouldn’t usually get to if I wasn’t out running.

It will mean a great deal to me to run the iconic London Marathon for Aspire. In April 2018 my dad Steve crashed during a mountain bike race, breaking his back and sustaining a complete spinal cord injury which left him paralysed from the chest down. He spent two weeks in intensive care in Liverpool, followed by nearly six months of specialist rehabilitation at the Northwest Regional Spinal Injuries Centre in Southport. When he was in Southport he met an Aspire Independent Living Advisor who helped him get through the initial first few challenging months after the accident, providing some light at the end of the tunnel for what his life post-injury could look like and how the things we thought might now be impossible, could be made possible.

My dad was a runner before his injury but never got to run the London Marathon.  The day of the race – Sunday 21st April - is also the anniversary of my dad’s accident so it will also be a big day of reflection on how far he’s come. My parents will be travelling down from the Isle of Man to watch, along with lots of friends who will be dotted around the course!

I am running the London Marathon six years to the day of my dad’s accident to raise as much money as possible to ensure any families who have to face this change in their lives can do so with dignity and support from Aspire, as we did. 

Sponsor Charlie

Charlie's dad blog: From injury to getting back on a bike

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