James Williams

Why I’m running the London Marathon 2026 for Asthma + Lung UK

My Dad suffered from severe lung and breathing issues in the last 7 years of his life. I love running and I’ve always wanted to run the marathon, which is at the top of my running bucket list. Being able to do this alongside my brother and in memory of my dad is the perfect tribute to him and to be able to support a charity that helps families like ours. 

Lung issues have always been close to my family’s heart as I suffered from childhood asthma. However the real impact of how lung issues can affect people began for us around 2015 when my Dad, Ian, was diagnosed with COPD. (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems).

He coped well with COPD at first and lived a fairly normal life, although we were aware of the progression of the disease and how life would likely change for him as we had lost my wife Nicola’s Grandpa to the condition a few years before. 

My Dad’s life changed forever almost overnight in October 2017, when he was diagnosed with sepsis. He was hospitalised and was recovering and on the verge of being discharged when he suddenly had a heart attack.

Once he had made some recovery from the heart attack, the doctors investigated further and found the sepsis had attacked his body to the extent that he needed major surgery to repair his aortic valve and replace his mitral valve. Because of his underlying condition of COPD, he was not expected to survive the operation. Surgeons were concerned that after the operation was complete, his lungs would not be strong enough to start breathing again. The surgery was extremely urgent and most surgeons said he was too high risk for them to perform the surgery. Only one surgeon agreed to perform the operation in Liverpool. 

The surgery was a success and fortunately his lungs and heart got going again after the operation and he began his long recovery. This involved over 4 months in hospital and many setbacks as he suffered more infections. 

Eventually he was able to go home and get his life back. Due to his advanced COPD and the trauma caused to his body by the sepsis, heart attack and surgery, his quality of life was severely affected, but we were over the moon to have him back from the brink. He came home dependent on oxygen 24/7, and the whole family soon learned a lot about the various machines and equipment that quite literally kept him alive day-to-day. 

My dad was a fighter, and he fought for over 7 more years. We had to watch him slowly deteriorate, being able to do less and less until he was housebound. Even when he quite literally had to fight to breathe, to wake up in the morning and actually force himself to decide to breathe in and out through the pain and the difficulty, he kept going. He astounded all the doctors and their expectations. On many of his hospital admissions, staff who had not seen him before couldn’t believe his perseverance and the fact that he was still making his lungs do their job. 

Watching him slowly decline, and finding it harder and harder to breathe (something most of us take for granted) has been heartbreaking for us all. 

He sadly died in March this year. 

While he did have other issues, such as contracting sepsis and surviving major heart surgery, the COPD was the most significant factor in his eventual decline. I and my family will forever be grateful to the medics who took a chance on my dad and ultimately gave us over 7 additional years with him, and who helped him every single time he needed them over the years. This extra time was incredibly precious, especially for his three young granddaughters. We’d like to be able to say thank you for this gift of time with my dad, and to support the pioneering work that Asthma + Lung UK does, so that other patients affected by lung conditions and their families can have the same chance that we did.