A 30-year-old man from Dunfermline, who defied the odds to survive meningitis twice before his first birthday, is taking on an extraordinary fundraising challenge. Callum Strang is running his first two marathons just two weeks apart by taking on both Paris and London Marathons in support of Meningitis Research Foundation.
Callum Strang was just eighteen weeks old when he first became unwell with pneumococcal meningitis, a type of bacterial meningitis. After time in hospital recovering, he contracted the same illness again just ten weeks later. Now, he is attempting two marathons in two weeks to raise vital funds for Meningitis Research Foundation.
“My story has always been told to me by my family, but I know it’s shaped who I am today and has given me a really positive outlook on life,” Callum said.
“Raising awareness is so important. A lot of people don’t know about meningitis or just how serious it can be. The more stories we share, the more awareness we can raise. For parents like my mum, hearing other people’s experiences can be a comfort – a problem shared is a problem halved.”
Callum is sharing his experience in Meningitis in your words, to help build the world’s largest digital collection of meningitis experiences. Told in people’s own words, each story is shared to foster understanding, offer comfort and above all, save lives. The goal is to collect 2,030 stories – a figure to reflect the World Health Organization’s Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030 and to help illustrate to international leaders its true impact on communities worldwide.
“I know I’m lucky. I survived meningitis twice and have gone on to live a fulfilled and happy life. That wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible work of doctors, researchers and organisations like Meningitis Research Foundation.”
Meningitis is a serious, life-threatening disease that can kill in hours. Globally, meningitis affects around 2.3 million people a year and an estimated 1 in 6 people who get bacterial meningitis will die.
Meningitis Research Foundation is the world’s leading meningitis charity. It provides individual support to people across the UK and Ireland whose lives have been directly affected by meningitis, alongside campaigning to raise awareness and improve health policy and funding breakthrough research which can help defeat this deadly disease.
Callum will run the Paris Marathon on 13th April 2025, followed by the London Marathon just two weeks later on 27th April. He hopes his efforts will not only raise funds for Meningitis Research Foundation’s work but also help others learn about the risks of meningitis and the importance of recognising symptoms early.
Charlotte Ulett, Senior Events and Community Fundraising Manager at Meningitis Research Foundation, said: “Meningitis can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time and it’s a race against time because it can kill within hours. Our vision is a world free of meningitis and to achieve this, we need to fund lifesaving research, improve access to vaccines and ensure support is available for every family affected. That’s why we are so grateful to Callum and all our London marathon runners, who train tirelessly for months, to take on extraordinary challenges like this. Not only are they raising vital funds, but they’re helping shine a spotlight on a global health issue. Their collective support brings us closer to defeating meningitis by 2030.”
Read Callum’s ‘Meningitis in your words’ story