Warwick woman to take on London Marathon despite illness

Emily Twitchett, who is 35 and a part-time teacher at Trinity Catholic School in Leamington, was officially diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) two years ago.

The syndrome affects a person’s ability to carry out daily tasks because they are always feeling exhausted.

Despite her illness Emily will be taking on the London Marathon on April 23 to help raise awareness for CFS and to also raise money for Parkinson’s UK.

She said: “I have not had a massive amount of training, maybe two or three months worth because I find training quite hard. CFS makes it really difficult every time I do a long run because I get really tired out.

“It is a bit like having the flu. The doctors say to try and exercise and keep active but I don’t think they meant do a marathon but having said that the mental strength I have had to develop to do this has been really great.

“I am really excited about the day and being part of the buzz of London and about raising money for charity but I am also terrified and know that it is going to take me a really long time.”

The 35-year-old has been into running for the last couple of years and has also done a half marathon in Nottingham in October 2015 and more recently she took part in the Warwick half marathon earlier this month.

Emily, has had to go part time at her job because of her CFS.

She said: “Teaching as a job is hard enough but when you have CFS you have to watch how hard you work. My days off are spent sleeping and I can’t plan things for the weekend as I need to make sure I have time to sleep.”

Emily, who lives in Warwick, chose to run for Parkinson’s UK because her mum has been diagnosed with the disease.

She said: “My mum was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about a year and a half ago and her dad, my grandad, also had Parkinson’s. The support that Parkinson’s UK has provided for my mum and dad has been wonderful, they have dedicated nurses and support groups - they are just phenomenal.

“When someone close to you is diagnosed with an illness that doesn’t have a cure you feel helpless.

“This is a way of showing my mum that I am with her 100 per cent and that I am also doing my bit to help.

“It is definitely about pushing myself to the absolute limit to raise money for other people, for my mum and for anybody with Parkinson’s.”

Emily needs to raise a minimum of £2,000 for the charity by the end of May and so far people have donated £1,027.70.

She said: “There is a lot of stigma around hidden illnesses and I am determined I will do the marathon and I will deal with the consequences afterwards.”

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