A 26-year-old electrical engineer from Tonbridge, Kent has successfully run the London Marathon in aid of Asthma UK and in memory of his mother who died following an asthma attack when he was aged just 11.
Though Chris White remembers his mother, Caroline, a secretary, being in and out of the hospital many times for her asthma – as often as five or six times a year – it was nonetheless a complete shock when an asthma attack killed her in March 2002, aged 41.
Chris says: “I remember the specialist my mum saw recommending a number of things for her asthma but nothing seemed to work. In the last two to three years of her life the attacks started to get worse and she was given a nebuliser to use twice a day to open her airways. Despite the medication, she still had some severe attacks, ending up in hospital each time. Even though it was difficult to see her like this, at the time I never thought it would lead to her passing away.”
Wanting to do something positive in her memory by raising awareness of the seriousness of asthma, Chris decided to train for his first ever marathon and run it in support of Asthma UK, the UK’s leading asthma charity.
He says: “It made so much sense for me to run in aid of Asthma UK, because 5% of people with asthma have symptoms so severe that current treatments don’t work, which means that these people have difficulty breathing almost all of the time. It’s crucial that more is invested in asthma research to find the life-changing treatments people with asthma urgently need.
“I have to say the marathon was very tough and I don’t think I’ll ever do one again! The atmosphere was amazing which made it all worth it. Hearing the cheers and people calling my name in the crowds was fantastic. I finished in a faster time than I was expecting when I began training just after last Christmas, so that’s great.
“There were some emotional points during the run when I thought about the reason I was doing it, but I was able to reel it in and find my focus again. I never thought I would be in a position to run a marathon but the idea of doing it in memory of my mum, and in support of Asthma UK spurred me on to the end.”
There’s still time to donate to Chris White’s donation page in aid of Asthma UK here.
If you are interested in joining Asthma UK’s running team at the London Marathon 2016, go to www.ashma.org.uk.
For media enquiries about Asthma UK, please contact the media team on 020 7786 4949 or [email protected]
