Well, we completed it!! At mile 14 something popped in the back of my knee and I had to hobble the next 12.2 miles, leaning on Andy!! It took forever but we finished and the total fundraising pot is now £5650.00 + Gift Aid, Amazing!! We would like to thank everyone for all the help and support we have received to raise an incredible amount of money for North Devon Hospice.

********************************************************************

On 22nd April, we are running the Virgin London Marathon!

Andy and I have always said the one thing we did not want to do was run a Marathon, so why are we?

Last Summer, we lost two customers who had become good friends. They were two people who greatly added to our lives since moving to Braunton and opening The Corner Bistro. We were greatly moved and affected by them both disappearing from our lives.

Rachel Brand died of a Brain Tumour in June and Nikki Ward died of Lung Cancer in August.

Andy and I had never been to a Hospice before (a lot of people haven’t - most go only when needed). Both of our friends were cared for by North Devon Hospice and we visited regularly between the months of June and August to see them. We were totally “blown away” by everything about the place. The staff are just amazing, so caring, compassionate, calm, friendly and always smiling. . The rooms, infact, the entire building (and amazing gardens) are tranquil, peaceful ,and just have a feeling I can’t describe - it gives you goose bumps. Not wishing to be morbid but it made us think what an amazing place to spend your last days.

We felt like we wanted to give something back to the Hospice in honour of our two friends. It needed to be a challenge, something out of the ordinary for us. We needed people to know we were serious about raising funds for this charity, so applied for places to run the London Marathon for North Devon Hospice and, amazingly, we were accepted!

Running a marathon is a big commitment and requires a huge amount of personal sacrifice (especially if you own your own business). Just because you are 40, Christmas is here, working 18 hour days, you’re getting married and going on honeymoon, Easter is round the corner, the training has to continue!

You have to train, train, train and train more. You have to plan routes, think about what you eat, what you shouldn’t eat more and more. We started in September with: run 8 mins, walk 2 mins (x3) and our running has taken us to many different locations. Our training runs have taken us to: Chivenor roundabout so many times! London - Vauxhall Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and round the Houses of Parliament, along the entire Beeston canal path in Nottingham (and back!), Padstow to Wadebridge along the Camel trail, Mexico (on honeymoon!) - half marathon in 32˚ heat and 90% humidity (ouch!), around Central Park in New York (twice!), Velator – the toll Road, Sandy Lane, American Road, Moor Lane, Saunton Beach, and finally the tarka trail to Bideford!

You might have seen us? When you do, honk, wave, cheer, it all helps spur us along!!

Our sole aim is to raise as much money as possible for North Devon Hospice, an amazing local charity that helps many, many people. This is our Thank You to them for treating and caring for our friends, who sadly, are no longer here. In addition to our fundraising and sponsorship, we have and will continue, to donate 10p from every coffee sold at The Corner Bistro to North Devon Hospice

We also have a donation box and sponsorship forms to fill in – Thank You for your support and generosity.

So please dig deep and donate now!!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.