‘Emily is the inspiration for my London Marathon run’
“It’s been a dream of mine to run the marathon in my city, in front of family and friends, all for SUDEP Action.” - James Hewitt
Longstanding supporter James Hewitt will be running the London Marathon this year in memory of Emily Sumaria (pictured), who died of SUDEP, aged just 19. James said: “Emily was my wife Amy’s little sister. You could count the number of seizures Emily had on one hand. It took four months for the coroner to confirm that Emily had died from SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy).”
“Her family had never heard of SUDEP, and no one had warned them it was a risk. Since that moment, we’ve all been determined to change that.”
This isn’t James’ first fundraising endeavour for SUDEP Action as he was part of the 2018 Tuk Tuk to Turkey team. James, alongside Emily’s parents and sister (Rachel, Bharat and Amy), drove a Tuk Tuk from London to Istanbul, raising over £150,000. He also took part in a half-Ironman in the Lake District in 2024 (pictured below). He said: “It’s been a dream of mine to run the marathon in my city in front of family and friends, all for SUDEP Action.”
James’s advice to anyone looking to take on a challenge such as this is to create a training plan and break each part down into manageable chunks. He added: “When it gets hard, also remind yourself about who you are fundraising for to get you through.”
You can read Emily’s My Story here.
