I'll be carrying a picture of my dad to remind myself of why I'm doing this

Sophie is running the London Marathon this year in memory of her dad, who passed away 5 years ago of a lung-related illness. Here she tells us more.

Sophie, Asthma + Lung UK supporter
Published 25th April 2025

I'm Sophie, I live in Devon and I'm running the London Marathon for Team Breathe. This will be my 12th marathon!  

I’ve run five marathons in the last year to raise money for Asthma + Lung UK in memory of my lovely dad. He passed away in 2005 from lung-related illness. This seemed like the right time to take on a challenge in his memory as it will be 20 years since we lost him on 24 April, just a few days before this year's London Marathon. I’m hoping that some of the money raised will help research in this area so that hopefully young people don't lose their parents at a young age like I did. 

I'll be carrying a picture of my dad on the day to remind myself of why I'm doing this when I hit the tough times. Training's been going well, but 26 miles never ever gets any less daunting, even when you're 12 races in!  

As we get really deep into the training, my top tip would be to trust what you've done so far and try to ignore what everybody else is doing. Try not to worry about when you should start your taper, if you've done enough training or how many 20 miles you should run. Just stick to your plan – you've followed it perfectly this far. You've got this! 

The London Marathon is a bucket list item and I can't wait to be a part of it this year. Let's go, Team Breathe! 

Watch Sophie's video to find out more

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