Ben Greenfield

I'm fundraising for...

🩷 London Marathon 2027: Team Arthritis UK 🩷 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to visit my fundraising page and find out a little more about why I’m taking on the London Marathon 2027 for Arthritis UK. It really means a lot.

What and why?

This fundraiser is in honour of my beloved Nanny.

In April 2027, I’ll be running the UK's two largest marathons, the London Marathon and the Manchester Marathon, just 7 days apart to raise crucial funds for the UK's largest arthritis charity, Arthritis UK. This will be the biggest physical challenge I’ve undertaken to date, having never run a marathon before.

My Nanny’s Story

My Nanny was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at just 41 years old. Having turned 80 this year, she has now spent nearly half her life living with this relentless, progressive condition. Over the decades, RA has caused her significant pain, physical deformity and largely reduced mobility. It has robbed her of the ease of simple everyday tasks that many of us take for granted, such as getting dressed, opening a bottle or lifting ordinary household items. Additionally, she has endured multiple surgeries, with the periods surrounding these being incredibly painful and difficult.

Yet, despite all this, she is one of the most selfless people I know. Regardless of the pain she faces on any given day, she always tries her best to be the most loving Nanny to us grandchildren and our family, and the best friend she can be to those around her. She will always go the extra mile to look after anyone who walks through her door, and suffers in silence more than she should when putting others first. Alongside her strength, my Grandad is an enormous inspiration to me. He supports her through her most vulnerable times with a level of love, patience, and devotion that one can only admire. 

Daily, I witness the progressive nature of her suffering, and she is the driving force behind every single mile I will run in training and on the day of each event. 

About Arthritis UK

Arthritis in all forms affects around 10 million people across the UK, yet the life-changing reality of the condition is often under-appreciated. For decades, Arthritis UK and its predecessor organisations have helped advance arthritis research, support scientific breakthroughs and provide information, advice and support to people living with the condition. Every donation helps fund vital research into better treatments, prevention and ultimately a cure, while providing needed support for those living with arthritis today.

How you can help

To help fund Arthritis UK's work, donations of any size would be immensely appreciated. Whether that’s £1, £10, £20, or however much you’re willing to contribute, it goes further than you can imagine when combined with the generosity of others.

Further, sharing this fundraising page with others to spread awareness, particularly with people who are affected by the condition and could benefit from the services and research funded by Arthritis UK, helps massively for the cause.

For people like my Nanny, donations help fund research into the life-changing treatments that have enabled her to have some reprieve from her condition, and the ultimate aim is to find treatments that can prevent or cure it entirely. 

With monumental progress made since the founding of the original charity, I'm certain your donations will help drive further progress in the future.

Thank you sincerely for any donations you make and for your support. It means the world to me, and to my Nanny. She hopes one day people won’t need to suffer to the extent she has, and every pound counts towards making that hope a reality.

Updates

Throughout my fundraising journey, I will use the 'My Updates' section below to share insights into my fundraising efforts, progress in my training, and my Nanny’s personal experience with arthritis to help raise awareness. Also, I'll take a deeper dive into the work done by Arthritis UK in the past and in the present day. 

Please feel free to reach out to me via email (bensagreenfield@outlook.com), Instagram (@bensagreenfield), or LinkedIn (Ben Greenfield) if you have been affected by arthritis yourself and are happy to share your story, or would like to follow my fundraising efforts on those platforms too. I'll be tracking all my runs using Strava (Ben Greenfield).

I really hope you will join me on this fundraising journey.

With the utmost gratitude, 

Ben 🩷