Daughter and son-in-law run London Marathon for MS-UK

A supportive family joined forces with MS-UK to run London’s infamous Marathon at the weekend, with thousands of pounds raised.

Steve Fidler, 54, from Faringdon, Oxfordshire is a proud dad and father-in-law after his daughter and son-in-law took on the mighty London Marathon in warm temperatures at the weekend and raised lots of funds for MS-UK.

He said: ‘My daughter, Abbie, finished in 4:01:23 and my son-in-law, James, finished in 4:20.

‘Abbie raised around £3k and James just under £2k at the moment. I’m very proud of them both for doing it and raising so much for a worthy charity.

Keen archer Steve, who was diagnosed with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS), in July 2024, understands what it means to train, admitted that it’s not just the actual day itself that’s tough.

‘It’s not just the running of the marathon it’s all the training that goes into it. The running in the cold and the rain after work when all you feel like doing it staying in the warm.

‘Training like this is such a commitment and it requires a great deal of discipline. It makes me very proud of them both for doing it.’

Abbie, 29, said: ‘Running the marathon was both a challenging and incredible experience. I’m grateful to MS-UK for giving me the opportunity not only to take part, but also to raise funds for a charity that works tirelessly to support families like mine who are living with MS.’

If you’d like to donate to Abbie then you can click here

James, who is married to Steve’s other daughter, Hollie, 31, added that he was thrilled to run for such a worthy cause.

‘It was an honour and a privilege to be given the opportunity to run for MS-UK in the London marathon.

‘The day itself is an unbelievable experience, the amazing atmosphere and sharing the course with so many others, also running for great causes, is truly inspiring and really helps push you over the line after a gruelling 26.2 miles!

‘Knowing that the funds raised help impact the lives of those affected by MS in such a positive way made every last step worth it and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.’

If you’d like to help James grow his pot too then click here

Steve, who was selected to be part of the Archey GB para-academy, believes sport has given him ‘a direction and the courage to embrace my diagnosis and turn it into a positive’ so if you’d like to read more about why exercise might be great for you too, then enjoy a read of our Choices booklet for more information.