Fay's London Marathon

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. I'm running the London Marathon for Cancer Research UK. In memory of my wonderful brother Stuart "Smiler" Collier.

My Story

So, running the London Marathon has been on my bucket list having watched my brother and friends take part in previous years. I started running just a few years ago with 5km runs and have been increasing my distance slowly with the aim of ultimately doing a marathon. When Stuart was very ill in autumn I ran my first half marathon in Liverpool and I told him I was applying to run the London marathon with Cancer Research UK. We both agreed that I wouldn't beat his time of 3 hours 26 minutes and simply completing it will be an achievement. We were also aware that even getting a place would be challenging. Sadly, Stu passed away before I was offered my place with Cancer Research UK but I promised him that if not this year then one year I would run for them. We hope that the money raised will help to improve diagnosis tools and treatment so that other families don't have to go through what we have been through. Many people visiting this page will know Stu. For those who weren't so lucky he was a wonderful brother, son, uncle, friend and most importantly husband and father. He took every opportunity in life travelling around the globe, volunteering for Scouts, playing softball and ultimate frisbee. He was the most amazing person at giving gifts and always found the perfect present for everyone. He was generous with his time and money. He passed away just 16 months after his diagnosis with oesophogeal cancer at the age of 37. I'm grateful he was my brother for these 37 years and I cherish the time we spent together. Stu always encouraged my running. He took me on my first park run whilst we were on holiday, it was his 100th park run but being a competitive soul he didn't run with me and left me for dust after 5 meters. We even got to run a few times after his diagnosis before he was too poorly and he still had to slow down for me!