Simon Thomas

Two years ago, when I was 56, the severe sleep apnoea from which I had suffered for many years started to make daily life and work increasingly difficult. When a young doctor friend who was visiting helped me access effective treatment my life improved immensely, and it felt time to give something back.

Around the same time a friend persuaded me to join him on a 10k charity  run. I had not run for over twenty years and never for more than a few miles, so even after six weeks training 10k seemed a long way. Despite that I kept running. 18 months later I ran the Great North Run for Phab (www.phabengland.org.uk) with our elder son, Matthew and his partner.

I chose to run for Phab because I wanted to do something for children with physical difficulties after meeting some of the children in wheelchairs my wife works with. Phab is hugely respected and I like their approach.

When Phab offered me a place in the London marathon after the Great North Run, I made myself wait two weeks before accepting. After Laurence, our younger son who is at university in London agreed to run with me, I accepted.

 

Between October and April, I, Meg our Jack Russell terrier and Henry our flat-coat retriever-cross trained for over 700 miles along the tow-path of the Leeds Liverpool canal. It meant cold early starts running before work but the herons, swans and occasional kingfishers made it worthwhile.

When the big day came, the atmosphere in London was amazing. The feeling as Laurence and I crossed the finishing line in the Mall after just over 5 hours was incredible.

Between the Great North Run and the London Marathon we raised over £5000 for Phab.