Four years after losing his best friend to leukaemia, Mark Heasman is taking on the Virgin Money London Marathon to raise money for us.
Mark said: "Five years ago one of my closest friends, Jamie, was diagnosed with leukaemia. At the time we were students and were out partying every night – we felt invincible. Although Anthony Nolan found a bone marrow donor for Jamie, he passed away in 2010, just after his 23rd birthday. Jamie left behind a letter asking his friends and family to continue to support Anthony Nolan after his death, to help give other people the chance to live.”
“If Jamie was here today and knew I was taking on a marathon, he'd have a bloody good laugh. Especially if he heard I was planning on giving up alcohol in the months running up to it! Jamie was an incredible person – even when he wrote that letter, he was thinking of other people. “
“I’m aiming for under four and a half hours. My company’s Chief Executive ran it last year in just over four and a half so, in the spirit of friendly competition, I want to beat him!“
Good luck Mark!
Donate to the team
Want to help support our amazing runners? You can give money to the whole Anthony Nolan team here on our official Virgin London Marathon 2014 page. And look out next Monday to see another runner in the spotlight.