My Story

I ran my first marathon (Paris) 20 years ago this year and have since gone on to run seven more. I haven't tackled the distance for five years but I'm keen to put that right in 2023, so I'm aiming to run my first London Marathon on 23rd April.

In order to keep myself motivated I’m also going to be raising money for Coeliac UK. Nine years ago, I’d never given coeliac disease a second thought, but then our eldest son, Cameron, became very sick. He didn’t grow, he was malnourished and he had absolutely no energy. It was a heart-breaking few months until we finally got the diagnosis that he had coeliac disease.

The good news is that thanks to a strict gluten free diet and some great support and advice from Coeliac UK, Cameron bounced back and is now a whirlwind of energy with a healthy gut, provided he sticks to a lifelong gluten free diet.

Coeliac disease is not a food allergy or an intolerance, it is a lifelong autoimmune disease. Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction of the immune system to gluten – a protein found in wheat, barley and rye.  When someone with coeliac disease eats gluten, their immune system reacts by damaging the lining of the small intestine. Undiagnosed and untreated coeliac disease can lead to complications including dermatitis herpetiformis, osteoporosis, lymphoma and small bowel cancer, and infertility.

Coeliac UK do amazing work to support their 60,000+ members, including offering support for newly diagnosed coeliacs and their families, campaigning for better availability of gluten free food, funding critical research into the condition, and raising awareness to improve diagnosis rates.

So as I’m pounding the capital's roads, I’m going to be thinking about how much they’ve helped us as a family. None of us would have bounced back as quickly without the support they provide.