Family tragedy spurs Greenwich teenager to run London Marathon

By Regina Motalib

One of the youngest runners in this year’s London Marathon finally fulfilled a childhood ambition when he set off from St John’s Park in Greenwich.

Tajwar Chowdhury, 18, was spurred on to make a difference, after a family tragedy struck when he was just a child.

He was only seven years old when his uncle suffered a fatal heart attack during a family wedding. His father, Abdul Khalique, 56, also suffers from a genetic heart condition.

It has been a lifelong ambition of the economics student from SOAS University, to run the marathon one day and raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.

Tajwar completed the 26.2-mile race in just over four hours.

He said: “My uncle’s death and my father’s diagnosis was heartbreaking for me. There’s a chance I might get it too due to it being hereditary – which is scary. I don’t want to stop doing the things I love so I wanted to raise money for a charity that can make a difference.” 

To donate: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tajwar-chowdhury 

Pictured top: Tajwar completes the race (Picture: Moni Chowdhury)