April 2026 – London Marathon 2026 overview, CureDM at the IDMC & Drayton Manor family day planning!
Written by Becky Cartwright
Hello and welcome to CureDM Connect
Hello and welcome back to CureDM Connect monthly blog for April. April has been a super busy one for CureDM. Events have included our first ever London Marathon Team who all did an amazing job, and planning has ramped up for our family day at Drayton Manor this Summer. We also have representation at this years IDMC (International Myotonic Dystrophy Consortium) which we are really looking forward to!
London Marathon 2026 overview
On April 26th 2026, 13 runners set off in glorious sunshine for the amazing experience and challenge of running 26.2 miles around London. Passing some of the most famous sites around the capital including Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge, The London Eye and down past Buckingham Palace to the finish line. Team CureDM had a wonderful few days in London, running for Team Toby, Dregan, Louie, Daisy, Ioan, Rachael, Dom, Tamsyn, Becky, Bayley, and ALL CureDM Families!
The night before the run we met up and had lovely Team meal at Heroica Lounge Pizza Bus! This was such a lovely evening in the sunshine to all catch up, chat about any last minute nerves and carb load for those marathon runners!
We will be sharing our official charity fundraising total for the London Marathon over on our socials as soon as all donations are in, so do keep your eyes peeled. I can tell you, the total is absolutely amazing and the biggest single charity fundraising event the CureDM has ever had!
All 13 runners did fantastic and all their training and hard work really paid off. Our first finisher crossed the line in just 3 hours and 9 minutes! Well done Peter Deadman! Our final finisher, Brad Cartwright (Team Toby Daddy) crossed the line in 6 hours and 33 minutes side by side with the other Team Toby runners Paul and Tracey. All our runners achieved what they set out to do, to complete the London Marathon, and despite some blisters, tired legs and aching joints afterwards, they all did it without a injury or accident which is always the most important thing! A huge WELL DONE again to all the runners – you are officially the first ever runners to ever take part in the London Marathon for CureDM!
Team CureDM/Team Toby London Marathon runners 2026:
- Peter Deadman – 3hrs09
- Dai Rendle-White – 3hrs38
- Ewan Chesman – 4hrs06
- Liam Garwood – 4hrs41
- Ben Taylor – 4hrs44
- Chris Thirlaway – 4hrs45
- Arion Quaynor – 4hrs47
- Pete Ashley – 5hrs09
- Jonathon Lawson – 5hrs32
- Paul Cartwright – 5hrs38
- Tracey Lawton – 5hrs38
- Pete O’Hanlon – 5hrs42
- Brad Cartwright – 6hrs33
If you would like to take part in the London Marathon 2027, CureDM have a form you call fill out to put forward your interest. We will let you know if you have been successful with a charity place in due course and if not, you will be placed onto the waiting list for the following year. London Marathon 2027 places HERE.
CureDM at the IDMC-15
We are really pleased to announce that Pete Ashley one of our lovely co-founding trustees will be at this years IDMC representing CureDM. The meeting is being held in Canada this year from the 26th-30th May, and this global scientific conference is focused on advancing research, care and collaboration for Myotonic Dystrophy. The main purpose of the conference is to connect clinicians, researchers and patients, and to give a platform for presenting data and any new research and advances in treatments and findings about DM1 and DM2. Having UK DM representation at an event like this is really important for CureDM, and it is looking to be a very busy week for Pete.
CureDM are delighted to be supporting Dr Nikoletta Nikolenko to attend the meeting. She will be presenting our Charity poster, representing the UK patient community and sharing patient reported preferences and needs. This is vital to show WE ARE HERE and WE HAVE A VOICE. CureDM is dedicated to making that change for our community with your help.
We often hear comments such as:
- ‘No one understands about the condition so we struggle to access help and support’
- ‘The condition is so rare there is little research or support out there’.
- ‘Health professionals do not understand the impact, symptoms and risks associated with DM’.
- ‘Having DM yourself or within your family can feel really overwhelming and isolating at first’.
Survey reminder
There is still time to support us with the work we are doing, for the IDMC and other conferences we have planned, by completing the questionnaire below. This really helps us to share real world evidence on your behalf and collect important data that can be shared to make a real life impact. Please complete this survey if you have DM1, DM2 or are a caregiver for someone who has DM. Responses are completely anonymous and all posters and presentations will be shared on the website in due course.
Complete the questionnaire HERE
Drayton Manor Family Day 2026
(Please note as of the end of April we are still taking applications for this years family day, please fill in the form which you can find HERE but do note we are very close to finalising numbers so please do check out our socials for more information or email curedm@outlook.com)
This years families day is being held on Saturday 25th July 2026. The event venue is Drayton Manor Park and Zoo and is set to be our biggest family event to date. We can’t wait to welcome you all. Whether this is your first, second, or even more family day, you are sure to have an amazing weekend. This event is a really great opportunity to meet others who understand, and who have similar experiences. It is also a great opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones and make core and lasting memories to treasure.
You can find a helpful link HERE to Drayton Manor’s YouTube channel. It is a great place to familiarise yourself with the location, rides and other helpful information.
Friday: Join us for sit down meal and pre event party!
Saturday: We will all meet in the fabulous Tower Suite at Drayton Manor from 9am. The event includes entry to Drayton Manor Theme park, the home of Thomas Land and Drayton Manor Zoo. There will be drinks and snacks throughout the day in the Tower Suite, a late afternoon sit down buffet, and opportunity to socialise into the evening.
Sunday: There is an option to have a second park day on the Sunday for an additional charge.
This will be my 3rd family day I have been on with CureDM and we absolutely can’t wait to catch up with friends and other individuals within the DM community, and spend quality time as a family. Our first event was a smaller Christmas event on The Polar Express in Wensleydale, followed the big Summer event in 2025 to Chester Zoo. At each event I have found a lot of comfort in meeting other people and families that understand my situation and many who have been where we are now. Toby is now approaching 3 and a lot changes from year to year, these annual events really are a wonderful space for support, advice and community.
Great North Run 2026
There is still time to sign up for this years Great North Run in Newcastle! This was Team Toby Daddy’s first half-marathon in 2025 and it was such a fantastic event to be part of! Labelled as one of the biggest half-marathons in the world it really is an incredible time as not only a runner but a spectator too.
The link for signing up is HERE. Please do note that the cut off for applications is quickly approaching so if you are interested please register as soon as possible.
In 2025, CureDM and Team Toby took 23 runners to the GNR and raised an incredible £12,747! There are already 12 runners signed up for this year and fundraising is well underway with nearly £1,000 being raised so far! Come and join us at the GNR 2026.
Thank you!
That is it for April and I have really enjoyed writing this months blog. May is set to be another busy month with the IDMC and lots of planning for our families day. You can catch up with any blog posts you might have missed HERE. I have been writing the CureDM connect monthly blog since October 2025 and have loved being able to keep in touch with the community, giving you a peek into all the hard work that goes on in the background that maybe isn’t always obvious. Thank you once again for taking the time to read our April blog post and I will catch up with you in May.
Becky – CureDM Social Content and Engagement Lead