The people before you.

A letter about the people who came before you, the memories they gave us and the parts of them we carry forward. As I prepare to run the New York City Marathon for Alzheimer’s Society, I introduce you to your great-grandparents and explain why they’ll be with me every step of the way.

Dear Leo,

Last night, I sat inside the Royal Albert Hall listening to an orchestra play music from the Disney films I watched when I was little. I was there with your godfather Scott, or “Scotcheggs,” as you call him.

It was Disney Night at the BBC Proms, and as each familiar song began, I found myself thinking less about the films and more about the people I used to watch them with.

It’s strange how memory works. You think you’re remembering a film, but really, you’re remembering whose house you were in. Whose VHS player you pushed the tape into. Who sat beside you and how it felt to be there with them.