London Marathon

I've been offered the daunting but exciting opportunity of running the London Marathon for Tommy’s, a charity which I feel passionately deserves support.

Over the last two and a half years of trying for a baby, my wife and I have had two miscarriages. The pain and upset this has caused is hard to put into words. So many couples suffer a miscarriage - around 1 in 4 women lose a baby during pregnancy and birth.

And this is where Tommy’s comes in. They fund research into pregnancy problems and try to end the stigma around miscarriage. Tommy’s and its supporters refuse to accept that a baby's death is just 'one of those things'. Their target is to halve the number of babies that die during pregnancy or birth by 2030. There’s loads more about the charity here: www.tommys.org

My wife and I are determined to do something positive to help. We raised more than £3,500 after both doing Ride London in July 2016.

I've since been given the chance to do the London Marathon in April 2017 for Tommy’s and I simply could not turn it down. It'll be the first marathon I've ever done and to say I'm nervous about it is an understatement! I want to continue where we left off and aim to raise a total of £5,000 for both Ride London and the London Marathon. 

If you'd like to donate: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/markansell 

Thanks for your support.

Mark