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“Running changed my life sharply. I went from a rather sedentary lifestyle to an active running year that resulted in two marathons completed under 3h:15m in 2017, which went beyond any of my expectations. While it impacted my own personal life, I always wanted to take on fundraising and be able to attribute this to a greater cause. I researched online, and Leukaemia Care seemed like a great charity run by amazing people and I immediately went with it.
The 2018 London Marathon was the first time I decided to run for charity, but certainly not the last. During this time I was living in Spain, but I had lived in London for an amazing three years and still have lots of friends and former co-workers in the city. Running in London was an amazing personal experience for me and I wanted to do an homage to the city and the people I cherish there.
Therefore, I decided to tattoo the initials of every person who donates £80 or more. If ever anyone wanted to brand their initials on another living body (and do not own cattle), this was their chance.
It is also a way of thanking everyone who has supported this cause and me on running the 2018 London Marathon. It’s a pleasure to have the names of friends and family who helped with this as a memento of the special day.
I had expected most of the fundraising to come from friends in London, but I ended up gaining amazing support from family in Brazil and friends in Spain and the US as well.
I found training in February until mid-April the toughest. I would try to run four times a week, with a HIIT session on Tuesdays, light mid distance on Thursday, race pace on Friday and long distances on Sunday.
Running 42.2km is very tough. Waking up at 4am, doing 30+km on rainy days before work – was never an easy task. But I was committed to do it as I understand this is nothing compared to the ordeal a person that suffers from blood cancer goes through.”