Virgin London Marathon 2013

Ian Brennan with his medal at the finish

Like many, every year I like to get up early to watch the London Marathon on television. This year I was even more excited; I got up early to see if I could spot our two runners for the Child Brain Injury Trust. The male runners set off at about 10.00am and unfortunately my eye site wasn't good enough to pick out Alex Radford and Ian Brennan from the the 30,000+ runners also setting off.

People travel from all over the world to take part in this iconic race and our runners were no different. Ian Brennan travelled over from Northern Ireland and managed to complete the race in 4 hour and 4 minutes; whereas Alex Radford came all the way from Spain to join us on race day; completing the marathon in 4 hours and 28 minutes.

We thank both of the runners for their support, and congratulate Alex Radford for raising over £5,000. Alex chose to take part in the London Marathon to celebrate his 40th birthday. He said: "I have never run a Marathon before and I am absolutely terrified and delighted at the prospect of participating in the race and raising funds [for the Child Brain Injury Trust]."

Alex Radford raised over £5,000

Alex is still fundraising for the Child Brain Injury Trust; if you would like to show your support simply go to www.justgiving.com/LondonMarathon-Alex and make a donation.

We would like to extend our appreciation to all the runners who took part this year; without them this would not be the event it is. One can only imagine the dedication and passion you need to run a marathon, so a huge well done to everyone.

We would like to give specials thanks to Alex Radford, Irwin Mitchell and Ian Brennan for their support and hope they enjoyed the experience!

If you are interested in running in aid of the Child Brain Injury Trust, check out our website to see what we can offer or contact emilyhoney@cbituk.org to discuss further.


Posted by Emily Honey, Fundraising Assistant.

When the Bough Breaks - Annual Conference 2013

A huge thank you to all who attended our Annual Conference. 

One week ago we opened our annual conference at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole with a presentation from our parent speaker Mary Taylor White. This set the high standard of the rest of the day. Mary shared her own experiences with the different professionals and families who attended from across the country. We would like to take this moment to thank everyone who helped make this day a success. 

Mary Taylor White - Parent Speaker

This year's annual conference focused on the moment when the 'bough breaks'. We had a variety of speakers throughout the day who looked at different social areas that become impacted following an acquired brain injury. 

For those who were unable to attend we had our first live twitter feed available. This is still available to view by simply following #cbitconference. We had great fun tweeting on the day and look forward to more taking part next year. 

Among the speakers were Judith Middleton our ex-chair of trustees; Judith focused on the changes to the family unit following a brain injury, and the different social structures families can form as a result. Judith Middleton is a retired Consultant Paediatric Neuropsychologist. 

We have so many thanks to make and would like to express our appreciation to all our speakers who were very well presented and informative on a number of topics. Our new trustee Katie Byard delivered a useful presentation on the importance of family in the brain injury rehabilitation.

However, this year the presentations were not restricted to the conference room. We also had a poster display available for delegates and exhibitors to browse during the breaks.

Child Brain Injury Trust Youth Zone Exhibition

The annual conference also welcomed Beverley Turner to speak about her own experiences of living with her husband James Cracknell OBE, following his brain injury. Her presentation entitled 'Who's Moved my Keys' was a wonderful look into the everyday struggles families face following a brain injury. 

The day was rounded off with a presentation from Lee Ryan of Frenkel Topping on the current welfare benefits. A very fitting topic following the recent changes that have now come into place. 

A special thank you goes out to our sponsors; Ashton KCJ, Anthony Collins, Irwin Mitchell and Towry. 

If you would like to explore the presentations in more detail, please go to our website.

Once again thank you to everyone who attended and we look forward to seeing you next year! 

Photography by Simon Hadley

Written by Emily Honey, Fundraising Assistant