Rob has had to learn to walk, write and run again after he suffered an acute blood clot stroke to the cerebellum in January 2023. He lost control of his whole left side along with his sense of balance.
Rob, who is well known in the farming community as NFU East's Regional Environment Adviser, was just six weeks away from running the Tokyo Marathon that year when he had to pull out.
Determination and resilience
Now, after a remarkable show of physical and mental determination and resilience, he has built up his fitness and is ready to go again.
He said: “Lying in the intensive care unit bed, I had no idea what the permanent damage might be. Within a couple of weeks, I was able to get out of bed and start the process of learning to walk again, which then happened remarkably quickly.
“Writing was much harder with the brain taking longer to figure out the fine motor skills required. The NHS physiotherapists were great at giving me exercises to do, and the more I repeated them the better I got at everything.
“My sense of balance still lets me down from time to time and I need a couple of hours extra sleep every night even now to keep my energy up with all that extra brain processing that’s going on.”
Rob took up running for the first time in his early 50s to improve his health. He has since run 11 marathons.
The Tokyo Marathon, on 1 March, will be his second marathon since recovering from the stroke, having run the London Marathon last year.
Support for the Stroke Association
He raised money in the past for cancer and Alzheimer’s charities in support of loved ones and this year he is raising vital funds for the Stroke Association.
He said: “I’m so grateful that I was not left with more damage and know that I am very lucky.
“The Stroke Association was extremely useful and a reassuring resource for me during my recovery and I know they do incredible work for those less lucky than me helping rebuild lives, of both stroke survivors and their families.”
To secure a spot in Tokyo Rob had to commit to raising at least £3,500 for the Stroke Association.
He said: “Having lost my ballot place after the stroke I was really keen to get my place back as Tokyo will complete my six-star World Marathon Majors journey started in 2015 in New York.
“This is the first time the Stroke Association has had places in Tokyo, so I was destined to grab one whatever the fundraising commitment.
“I feel hopeful about raising the money but less certain about getting my finisher’s medal. Tokyo has the strictest time limits of any of the Majors and post stroke I’m not nearly as fast as I used to be.
“Getting across the finish line in the allowed time is giving me some sleepless nights but I’m pretty confident I can do it. I’ve included extra strength training on my left side in my preparations to give me the best chance.”