England box international Annabelle Akintoye to run London marathon for Leukaemia UK

Former England Box Lacrosse team captain Annabelle Akintoye is taking on the 2027 London Marathon to raise money for Leukaemia UK, after her mum successfully navigated the disease earlier this year.

Akintoye, who became the first black player to captain an England team at a World Championship in any format of the game at the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships, recently announced her intention to run the marathon on Instagram.

In the post, Akintoye, who featured six times as England finished fifth at that 2024 Worlds, also spoke of her mum’s leukaemia diagnosis in December 2025 that led to the “hardest season [her] family [had] faced”.

Following four cycles of chemotherapy, including a targeted therapy that was only approved for use in the UK in the last three years, that disrupted Christmas, Easter, and birthdays, Akintoye’s mum was told she was in remission and, less than a year after her diagnosis, she started back at work earlier this month.

Akintoye has spoken of her and her family’s reliance on faith during this difficult period, noting that prayer had “carried them through days when nothing else could”.

The chances of survival for Akintoye’s mum’s particular kind of leukaemia are just 22% but Leukaemia UK, with its mission to bring together the leukaemia community to find and fund life-changing research, is hoping to increase those odds in the future.

In 2027, for the first and only time, the London Marathon will take place over two days, on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th April, welcoming over 100,000 runners, including Akintoye, to the capital.

We wish Annabelle all the best as she trains and eventually runs the London Marathon on Sunday 25th April, and we wish her mum all the best as she continues her recovery.

To donate to Akintoye’s cause, simply click the button below, and follow her journey to the London Marathon on Instagram HERE.