Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In April 2019, after feeling 'a little off colour' for a few months, my dad was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, and we were about to find out that it had already spread to his bones and lymph nodes. I remember the moment when I heard the news, and i'll never forget the painful months that ensued as dad battled with this horrible disease, as much as he battled the news that he wouldn't be around for much longer to enjoy the life that he so fervently loved. 

It was a paradoxically short but long 4 months from diagnosis to his death. The picture above was taken about half way through his short illness, in June 2019 (the teddy belonged to me as a child!). In the early hours of August 3rd 2019, my birthday, dad was admitted to hospital. He had got very poorly very quickly. Later that day, he was admitted to Myton Hospice in Warwick. 

I knew very little about hospices in general, and I had never heard of Myton. The care that Myton gave to my dad, and the kindness and respect that they gave his family is simply inexplainable. In the very worst minutes of my life, moments that I could never comprehend, the team at Myton were there with me. Professional, empathetic, human, kind and above all, experts at keeping dad comfortable and dignified. Dad stayed with them for just 5 nights, until the 8th of August when he died very peacefully. I just cannot begin to imagine what those 5 days and nights would have been like if it had not been for Myton.

For those who know me, you'll know that although fitness is important to me, I am neither classically 'sporty' nor am I a runner. Whilst I love group exercise (BODYPUMP is my favourite), my PE teacher described me like 'a sack of potatoes'. I have seriously dodgy hips, so much so that I have had one operation already which is the pre-cursor to a total hip replacement. So the odds are against me. 

Scotland was always somewhere that Dad loved. My parents split up when I was 11, but I have enduring happy memories of family Summer holidays spent in a caravan in Scotland, following the pattern from when Dad was growing up. So it's only right that I make the 16 hour round trip to a place that I know he found so special, Loch Ness. ***UPDATE, after the Loch Ness Marathon 2020 was cancelled on 29th June, I have decided to run a virtual marathon rather than postpone to 2021. I completed this on 14th July and details are below in an update. Just Giving does not allow me to update the event, so it has just rolled over the event to 2021, which I will not be running in!***

I've always been the donator, not the fund-raiser, so this is all new to me. If you can spare anything at all to help Myton raise the £9.2 million a year that they need to raise to keep going, I would be eternally grateful. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.