Running the London & NYC Marathons for Dyslexia

Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

Update April 2025: As most of you know, after picking up a pretty bad knee injury after running the NYC Marathon last November, I recently had to take the really difficult decision to defer my London Marathon entry to 2026. After 10 weeks, countless PT sessions, cortisone shots, and so many pills and supplements I lost count, by the time my knee was pain-free I was just too far behind in my training program to be able to participate as I had hoped :(

I've learned a LOT through these past few months. Mainly what a twit I was to think that at my age I could run 6 days a week for 18 months and do a marathon without a single leg stretch or strength exercise in sight...and not get injured somehow. I'm now feeling much stronger, and ready to begin training for my second New York marathon in November 2025. I'm already really looking forward to the incredible atmosphere on race day, and can't wait to do it all again.

I'll be back to start fundraising again after the summer and with another update. Please check out the incredible work that my chosen charities undertake in the meantime (details below) and THANK YOU again for all your help, support, and encouragement.

CP x

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In 2024, I decided to set myself a goal to run the New York City Marathon in 2025. I’ve always wanted to give it a go, and also saw it as a great opportunity to try and help a cause that’s very important to me.

Well, as fate would have it (or maybe it was the couple of glasses of wine that made me enter the ballot!!)…I have been VERY lucky to also get a place in the London Marathon in April! I’m really excited, yet totally terrified, to be running my first marathon in my hometown next spring. And, as long as I don’t keel over in London, my plan is to go on to run the 26.2 mile race in New York in November.

I’m running these races to raise funds and awareness for a cause that’s very important to me: Dyslexia. As many of you know, my youngest son George is severely dyslexic and he’s had to work very hard to overcome the everyday challenges this poses. For those that have followed his journey a little bit, George is doing brilliantly, and he’s now reading very well thanks to the amazing help he received from one of the charities I am supporting. The impact of dyslexia often goes beyond just a difficulty with reading and writing, and for millions of people like George, everyday things can sometimes pose a hurdle. Despite around 1 in 10 people having dyslexia, it’s still relatively undiagnosed and definitely misunderstood within everyday society. There are thousands of children who don’t get the reading help they need, yet early and appropriate intervention is absolutely crucial to helping young people succeed.

Some of you reading this may remember that in 2021, George walked 50 miles in support of the Children’s Dyslexia Center of NJ, the amazing team who taught him how to read over a period of three years. As a result of your kind and generous support, he was able to raise $5,500, enabling the CDC to fund the costs of teaching another child to read, which was George’s goal. We were so grateful for your support!

Whilst I know I’m not in the same fundraising league as Georgie, I’m hoping to raise some much needed funds for two very special charities: The Children’s Dyslexia Center of New Jersey once again, and The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity, who support people with dyslexia to bring about positive change in their lives. They offer advice, help, and tuition to children, parents, educators, and employers and truly do amazing work at a grassroots level.

You can learn more about both charities here:

http://mlcnj.com

https://helenarkell.org.uk/about-us/

Thank you so much for reading this far! And please know that ANY amount you are able to donate truly will be gratefully received, and hugely appreciated. It will make a big difference to both of these charities…plus it will also spur me on that extra bit more during my dark and cold winter training runs here in New Jersey!!

THANK YOU!