Let’s hear it for our London Marathon heroes

Team Marvellous has gained some new members, each fleet of foot and full of enthusiasm to take on the epic London Marathon and cross the finish line in aid of Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity! We’re so grateful to our valiant team of runners for taking on the iconic London Marathon course to raise money and help establish more Roald Dahl Nurses. We want to take a moment to shine a light on each of them and celebrate their kindness, grit and determination. Thank you for your marvellous support, and we’ll be with you every step of the way!

Roald Dahl Nurse, Emma Heroic Emma has found time to train for the marathon around her dedicated job as a Roald Dahl Nurse. Based at Yeovil Hospital, Emma is one of our Roald Dahl Epilepsy Nurse Specialists described as “marvellous” by the mum of one of her patients, and “she goes above and beyond and can’t do enough for anyone. I can’t sing her praises enough, she’s so fantastic. I feel like she’s part of our family.” Ahead of the marathon, Emma shares her motivation for taking part, “I feel so lucky to have this opportunity - I know it’s not going to be easy, but I will be thinking of all the strong families that I have the privilege to support who have tough days every single day, to help me get the finish line.” 

David Barnsley - Parsons David got the running bug when he took on other challenge events in support of Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. The charity is close to his heart thanks to the dedicated care his daughter Harriet has received from her Roald Dahl Nurses. Harriet has a rare genetic disorder, which has caused her to develop epilepsy and experience prolonged seizures lasting 15-20 minutes. Very little is known about the extent to which Harriet’s disorder will affect her.  David says, “The more we can spread awareness the better, anything we can do, we will always try to help.”

Emily Faye Emily is a singer and songwriter and a long term supporter of the charity. Emily will be taking part in the London Marathon MyWay on the same day. Emily says "I’m super excited to be running the London Marathon MyWay for Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity. I’ve been working with this charity for the past year playing live music at their events and writing personalised songs for the Roald Dahl Nurses. I am in awe of what they do and honoured to have been asked to do the marathon to support them!"

Josh Webster Josh is an ex-professional motor racing champion, who is determined to raise as much money as possible to support the charity. He says, “The pain I’ll endure on the day is dwarfed by what the children and their families are going through every day. It’s so important to get the help these children need and to support their families with dedicated Roald Dahl Nurses. For a few hours of running, we can make a huge difference for these families and any money we can raise to make it easier for them, the better.”

Anna Robertson Anna has been building up her running abilities over the last few years and is excited to take on the marathon as her next step.  She was inspired to run for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity after hearing about the impact they have on the children and families in their care. She says, “It was so moving to learn how the nurses go above and beyond, not only with their clinical specialism but helping families with their emotional wellbeing too. I am blown away by their passion.”

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity Trustee, Helen Helen is one of our dedicated Trustees and has fitted in marathon training alongside a busy day job at Meta, leading a team advising the largest technology businesses in the world on how to build their brands. Helen says, “I am so proud to be helping fund more marvellous nurses to look after seriously ill children. I am so proud to be running this year. The fundraising means that more seriously ill children will get cared for by marvellous Roald Dahl Nurses. Every step I take will be for all the marvellous Roald Dahl Nurses who care for seriously ill children.”