Ryan Northmore

And so it begins….

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

In 2027, I’ll be taking on one of the biggest challenges of my life: the London Marathon, raising money for Asthma + Lung UK.

This charity means a great deal to me because asthma has had a profound impact on my family.

When my son was just five years old, he was diagnosed with brittle asthma. During one severe attack, I witnessed every parent’s worst nightmare. I watched him lose consciousness in hospital, his eyes rolling back in his head as doctors rushed to save him. He underwent invasive emergency treatment, and at one point there was discussion about airlifting him to a specialist hospital.

I can still remember carrying him through the hospital corridors, not knowing whether he would be ok. The memory of seeing him so vulnerable, losing control of his body, and wondering whether I was about to lose my son is something that will stay with me forever.

Thankfully, he recovered. Many families are not as fortunate.

The truth is, I don’t think I’ve ever fully dealt with what I witnessed that night. Like many parents, I focused on getting through the crisis, supporting my son and family, and moving forward. But some memories never really leave you. For years, I’ve carried the fear, helplessness and trauma of that experience without properly confronting it.

In many ways, this marathon is about more than fundraising. It is an opportunity for me to face those memories, channel that pain into something positive, and do something meaningful with an experience that changed my life forever.

That night showed me just how serious and life-threatening asthma can be. Too often it is dismissed as something minor or manageable, but for some families it can become a matter of life and death in a matter of minutes.

I’m running this marathon to raise awareness of that reality and to support the incredible work Asthma + Lung UK does in research, support, education and campaigning for better care. If sharing my story helps even one family recognise the warning signs or encourages greater understanding of severe asthma, then it will be worth every step.

Now for the challenge itself…

I’m currently a 100kg dad, working full-time, and if I’m honest, I’m not exactly built for running marathons. The thought of covering 26.2 miles would have seemed ridiculous to me not so long ago. Every mile of training will require commitment, determination, and more than a few early mornings and sore legs.

That’s where you come in.

Your sponsorship won’t just support a fantastic cause; it will also help keep me motivated through the months of training ahead. Knowing that people are backing both the charity and my challenge will make it much harder for me to skip a training session when the weather is awful, work has been exhausting, or the sofa looks far more appealing than a long run.

Throughout the year, I’ll also be organising additional fundraising events, challenges and some slightly unusual sponsorship opportunities to help raise as much money as possible. Whether that’s endurance challenges, workplace events, community fundraisers, or ideas that seem sensible at the time but less sensible halfway through, I’ll be doing everything I can to support this cause.

Any donation, no matter the size, will be hugely appreciated. Together we can help raise awareness of the dangers of severe asthma, support families affected by lung conditions, and contribute towards research and services that save lives.

This marathon is for my son, for families affected by asthma, and perhaps, in some small way, for the dad who walked those hospital corridors carrying a desperately ill little boy and never truly left that moment behind.

Thank you for your support. It genuinely means a great deal to me and my family.