On Sunday 19th April, I’ll be taking on the Manchester Marathon! A challenge I never imagined I’d be brave enough to do and I still need to pinch myself that I will be running 26.2 miles.

I’m taking on the Manchester Marathon in support of Dreamflight, a small UK charity that has now taken more than 6,800 children with serious illnesses or disabilities on the trip of a lifetime.

My connection to Dreamflight is through my Uncle Ian, who has spent many years supporting the charity through British Airways. Hearing his stories about the children he’s met, and the life‑changing impact the trip has on them, is what inspired me to raise money this year.

Every October, Dreamflight takes 192 children on an extraordinary adventure where they can leave hospitals, appointments and limitations behind for a little while and simply experience joy, confidence and independence.

Dreamflight is a tiny charity, with only a small team and hundreds of volunteers who make it all happen. It costs over £1 million each year to run the trip, and every pound raised genuinely makes a difference.

But this run is also deeply personal and the motivation behind this run is my Nana.

My Nana was the kind of woman who could make you laugh even when she wasn’t trying. She had that classic Nana talent for brutal honesty wrapped in love. Whenever I told her I was doing race, she’d look at me over her glasses and ask, “Why? Do you ever think of doing something relaxing?”

Now, ironically, she’s the reason why I’m doing the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted!

Every mile I run is for her.

Every blister, every ache, every moment I question my life choices — that’s all powered by her voice in my head saying, “Well, you started it… keep going and maybe take a jacket if it gets cold!”

I know she’d be cheering me on in her own way, I know she would be proud of me even though she wouldn't fully understand why I have chosen to run a full marathon.

If you’re able to support me, whether through a donation or by sharing my page, it would mean the world. Together, we can help Dreamflight continue their incredible work and honour a woman who shaped me.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Lots of love,

Celine x