For siblings Chris and Hannah Skelley, that reason is deeply personal, powerful, and rooted in a shared belief that sight loss should never define what someone can achieve. This year, Chris and Hannah will be taking on the London Marathon in support of Fight for Sight.
Chris is a three-time Paralympian, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Champion and Paris 2024 bronze medallist and lives with Oculocutaneous Albinism. Hannah is a fashion journalist and Fashion Editor at You magazine (Mail on Sunday’s supplement). While their careers are very different, this challenge brings them together in a shared goal to raise funds to support people living with sight loss.
For Chris, the marathon is connected to his own lived experience. He began to lose his vision at the age of 17, and described his diagnosis as traumatic: “I was living my life as normal, and then suddenly everything started to change.”
As his vision declined, Chris navigated a period of uncertainty and confusion. Medical professionals initially refused to believe him, and it wasn’t until he travelled overseas to the US that he finally got a formal diagnosis. Alongside the fear of sight loss came the frustration of not always having clear answers. “There were times I didn’t want to be here,” he shared. “It turned my world upside down.”
Chris speaks openly about how those experiences continue to stay with him. “Even now, hospitals can still feel overwhelming at times. But I’ve had incredible support around me.”
That sense of support sits at the heart of why Chris is running this year’s London Marathon. He is adamant that nobody else should have to experience the confusion and uncertainty that he faced at the time of his diagnosis. “I want to run for those little kids out there struggling to understand their diagnosis, struggling to understand who they are and their disability.”
As his vision declined, Chris navigated a period of uncertainty and confusion. Medical professionals initially refused to believe him, and it wasn’t until he travelled overseas to the US that he finally got a formal diagnosis. Alongside the fear of sight loss came the frustration of not always having clear answers. “There were times I didn’t want to be here,” he shared. “It turned my world upside down.”
Chris speaks openly about how those experiences continue to stay with him. “Even now, hospitals can still feel overwhelming at times. But I’ve had incredible support around me.”
That sense of support sits at the heart of why Chris is running this year’s London Marathon. He is adamant that nobody else should have to experience the confusion and uncertainty that he faced at the time of his diagnosis. “I want to run for those little kids out there struggling to understand their diagnosis, struggling to understand who they are and their disability.”
“I want to run for those little kids out there struggling to understand their diagnosis, struggling to understand who they are and their disability.”
For Hannah, who took on the marathon last year, the motivation is also just as meaningful: “I’m running in honour of my big brother.” She went on to explain how Chris’ diagnosis completely changed his life and his family’s lives forever. Together, their reasons reflect something many families affected by sight loss will recognise. Vision impairment impacts more than just the person directly affected, it reshapes families, relationships, and routines.
Running for Fight for Sight carries a strong sense of pride for them both:
“For me, it’s a huge honour,” Chris says. “I get to raise money for an amazing charity, but also I get to show what’s possible.” He also reflected on the wider impact of supporting the cause. “Fight for Sight is a fantastic charity that helps people to get the right support and get them on the way of achieving their goals.”
Hannah shares that same pride. “It’s an absolute honour to run for Fight for Sight. We are very proud to be doing it in aid of such a fantastic charity.”
But although running for a cause carries a strong sense of pride, it definitely isn’t easy!
“Around the 34 kilometre mark. You’ve got less than 10K left and you’re slightly delirious,” Hannah shares, “The trick is remembering it’s only two park runs.” She also shares that despite the effort, being able to take the challenge on with her brother is a huge deal: “Knowing I’m helping Chris achieve something lots of vision impaired people think they might not be able to do. That’s huge.”
“Knowing I’m helping Chris achieve something lots of vision impaired people think they might not be able to do. That’s huge.”
For Chris, “It’s that little kid out there who needs support. That’s what gives me the superhuman strength.”
Another thing that keeps them going is their differing soundtracks. Chris loves musicals. “Moulin Rouge, The Greatest Showman. That’s my escape. That’s what gets me through the miles.” When things feel particularly tough, his go-to song is Elephant Love Medley: “Every time it comes on, the miles just go quicker.”
Hannah, on the other hand has a radically different choice, leaning more into techno, deep house and drum and bass: “Fred again has gotten me through so many runs!” Hannah’s other secret weapon in getting through the marathon is “A really good bag of sweeties. Candy Kittens or Rowntree’s Randoms. A treat per mile always helps.”
When asked about who would be supporting them, Chris excitedly told us that it would be his wife, mother, and friends. Hannah told us that all her friends would also be attending, “But honestly, they’ll probably cheer louder for Chris.” They will also have family supporting from afar: “Our granny will be watching from home,” Hannah shared, “That means a lot.”
Will you be going to cheer on our runners? Chris and Hannah shared that one of the most encouraging ways they can be supported on the day is to be reminded to “Keep going. You’ve got this. Don’t give up.”
Another key aspect of the marathon besides the run, is fundraising. We asked what fun steps they were taking in order to fundraise, and Hannah shared how she’s got her work colleagues involved: “I’ve started a raffle in the office. Baked goods, beauty products, fashion bits. Anything people might want in exchange for a donation. And of course, the link goes everywhere.”
When asked what they are most looking forward to, Chris was excited about the atmosphere: “The start line. Everyone there trying to achieve something for their chosen charity. That’s going to be incredible.” Hannah on the other hand is looking forward to a very specific moment: “Towards the end, when you’re running along the river and Big Ben comes into view. The crowds are electric. It’s emotional, overwhelming, amazing. I can’t wait for Chris to experience that atmosphere.”
Finally, we asked how they will celebrate after finishing, and both of their priorities were pretty clear: some good food and a drink! More specifically Chris is looking forward to a pint of cider and some pork pies, and for Hannah, a big cold pint of Jubel and a pizza. But besides the food, Hannah also expressed how she was looking forward to being able to run for the sake of it again: “Obviously when you’re on a training plan, you end up running in a regimented way every single week and you feel like you have to hit these targets. Whereas I quite like just running for the sake of a run, so I’m quite happy to have that back.”
For Chris and Hannah, this marathon is about far more than 26 miles, pork pies, pizzas and drinks. It is about being able to take on a challenge together to fund research, supporting people living with sight loss, and backing the work that Fight for Sight continues to do every single day. Because behind every mile, and every runner’s story is the same goal: a future without sight loss.
