Lewis Bishop from Frating was so inspired by seeing his mum run the London Marathon last year that he’ll be taking part himself this Sunday (April 23). And just like his mum, he’ll be raising funds for a charity which is very special to their family, Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF).
“CLDF became important to our family ever since my four year old niece, Delilah was diagnosed with the rare liver disease, biliary atresia,” explains 30 year old Lewis, a Business Manager at Lookers Land Rover, Colchester. “Delilah is such a cheeky character and always has a smile on her face, you would never know that she has a liver disease.
“CLDF have provided us with so much information that it’s given us all a greater knowledge and understanding of Delilah’s condition. And it’s not just about the support they have given so far, it’s the fact that they will be there for us all moving forward. Childhood liver disease is a lifelong condition and the fact that those closest to her have a support network through this charity is very important to me.”
Whilst Lewis is a keen supporter of CLDF, the idea of running the London Marathon – or in fact doing any running at all – for the charity did not occur to him until last October when his mum, Kathy, took part in last year’s event.
“If you were to go back to last September, I didn’t do any running, I sat behind a desk a work all of the time and avoided exercise,” Lewis admits. “But in October, as a family we went up to London to see mum run the Marathon and I found it so inspirational that I signed up for myself as soon as I was able to. She is taking part again this year and has been a great support during my training. We ran the Brentwood half marathon together earlier in the year and she gave me that push I needed in the final stages!
“Now it’s just days to go, I’m feeling excited and nervous about the whole situation. It is very much the unknown and although I have run my longest run of 20 miles in training, I have been told those final six miles are horrible! The main thing at the moment is trying to rest my body and not get injured. I’ve had fantastic support from my family and friends and I think I have surprised a few of them with how dedicated I have been to my training plan! I would have done anything not to run six months ago and now here I am ready to run the London Marathon! I don’t mind what time I do – if I can hit my £2,000 fundraising target, I’ll be happy.”
Rebecca Cooper, Chief Executive of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation commented: “CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this, however, we rely on voluntary donations, so we are delighted to hear that Lewis has been inspired by his mum to run the London Marathon for us. It’s a huge undertaking to train for this in six months so we really admire his commitment and hope he and his family have a wonderful day on Sunday.”
You can support Lewis’ London Marathon challenge by going to Children’s Liver Disease Foundation: Lewis Bishop (enthuse.com)
For more information on CLDF visit childliverdisease.org.
