“I want to inspire other people with CF”: Tom’s London Marathon story

Hi I’m Tom. I’ve always been into sport, especially football, and I’m extremely competitive. I love spending time with loved ones. And my dog… mainly my dog. I’m an avid reader and have become obsessed with reading about Kobe Bryant and the Mama Mentality. This is one thing that has inspired me to challenge myself with running and to see how far I can go. 

Focusing on what I can control

I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) when I was 18 months old, but thanks to my parents and the CF teams that have looked after me, I've been lucky enough to live a mainly healthy and active lifestyle. 

Mentally, CF has impacted me at times, especially when I was a teenager. As I’ve got older, I’ve come to appreciate that everyone has things they must deal with and the best way to look at any kind of challenge is to focus on what you can control and not what you can’t. If you can hold your head up at the end of the day and say you did your best, that’s all that matters. With this attitude, I hope the rest will take care of itself.

Cystic Fibrosis Trust has supported me my entire life and I really wanted to give something back. By running the London Marathon I hope to inspire others, do something worthwhile and see how far I can push myself. My parents have raised money for the Trust in the past and I want to continue that myself. I ran the Bath Half in 2019 and raised £800, so to achieve over £2,000 is amazing this time around.

I’ve never pushed myself so much physically and mentally as I have done training for the marathon. I’m looking forward to the run but can’t wait to drop back down to normal distances rather than 18 mile runs each week. 

My advice for other runners with CF is to take it slow and only look at competing with yourself. When I started running, I was comparing myself to anyone and everyone. It changed for me when I started just competing with how well I had run on the previous day. Once I changed my mindset, I was able to appreciate the little wins a lot more.

Inspiring others with CF

When training gets tough, there’s a couple of things I think of to get me through it. Firstly, it’s all about giving something back to the Trust and the people that have supported me since being diagnosed. Secondly, it’s to inspire anyone with CF (or any other illness for that matter) that no matter what you're told, you can always achieve what you wish to. Thirdly, I want to challenge myself and see how strong I am physically and mentally. Having suffered with my mental health from a young age, I want to push myself and prove that I can do something worthwhile.

For me, a life unlimited means just being able to manage my day-to-day life without it being drastically impacted. I’ve never known a life without CF, so I have nothing to compare it to, but compared to where I was 10 to 15 years ago, not having to do physio daily or use a nebuliser makes my life much easier. It would be great for everyone with CF to be able to experience life fully, doing whatever they choose to do.

If you’re thinking of fundraising for the Trust, whether it’s a marathon or any other challenge, I’d say just do it! To raise awareness and money is something worthwhile and setting yourself the challenge of running a marathon is something you will always look back on and be proud of. 

You can support Tom’s fundraising here.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition which causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. It affects more than 11,000 people in the UK. One in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing. 

Your donations help us fund vital research. Donate today to help everyone with CF live a life unlimited. 

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