I’m running the London Marathon on April 22nd to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. For me this is going to be a huge challenge as I was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2011 where my heart can and did just stop beating. This has led to 15 surgeries and a total of 372 days in spent hospital. Without the British Heart Foundations research I would quite simply not be alive as their funding and research have led to procedures I have directly benefitted from. When I was diagnosed with my condition in 2011 I was told that I would never finish my degree, I would never work full time and that I would never be able to run again. Thankfully for me treatment has improved, research continues daily to allow people to live longer and I’ve never been one for using the word never. As a full time teacher at DCC I have already proven two of their initial statements wrong and the marathon will be me proving the third and final one wrong also, its just taken a while longer. For me though its also proof that nothing is impossible and that sometimes if we work hard and commit ourselves to our goals we can achieve them. This is something I love to instil in the students I teach but is something I hope the whole school body will catch a part of as they hear about my achievements.

I am continually blown away by the support I receive both from staff and students at DCC. My classes in particular have been unbelievably supportive as they have been hearing about this marathon, and the training for it, for over of 4 months now. They will probably be as relieved when its over as I am! They are however excited about the potential of seeing me on the TV – I promise to give DCC a shout out should I get myself interviewed!

If you would like to read more about my story and more specifically why I’m running for the BHF please do visit my just giving page at www.justgiving.com/hopewins18