I want Charlie to think, “Wow, that’s my dad!”

Gregg is a 31-year-old dad and fitness addict! Gregg decided to run the marathon for Headway Cambridgeshire because he has experience of brain injury himself and benefitted from support. “I was born with a brain tumour and when it was removed, I was left with hydrocephalus. Together with the tumour removal, this caused my brain injury – it gave me a lack of balance and co-ordination down the right hand side of my body.” Gregg then had a number of operations to keep the shunt working correctly for his hydrocephalus and to remove another tumour when he was 11. “My last brain operation was in 1993 and I have been OK since then except for living with the effects of frequent headaches.”

Running isn’t the first of Gregg’s adventures with fitness as he started swimming when he was younger to try to balance out the differences in strength on the two sides of his body. “When I was younger I couldn’t really do anything sporty and by the time I got to secondary school I wanted to be as sporty as everyone else so I started doing a lot more exercise – swimming and weight training – and my interest has grown since then.” Before Gregg gave up swimming, he achieved national records, a European record and a World record in the Disabled Nationals and was the Eastern Region Team Captain.

Gregg is definitely motivated to make his son proud. “I want to have an effect on Charlie’s life – to do as much as I can so that he thinks, ‘Wow, that’s my dad!’ That’s what pushes me on.”

Support Gregg in his London Marthon run.