Earlier in 2019, my hero and dad, Phil Rech passed away from cancer. In 2014, he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer. And after being in remission for three years, his cancer surfaced again in 2017.

He became seriously ill on Christmas Eve in 2018 and was taken into hospital. He eventually decided to be at home with the rest of our family, where we spent precious time with him, before he died in January.

He was incredible. The kindest and most inspiring man, who made me feel like I was capable of anything. He was a brilliant husband to my mum, Bridget, and a wonderful father to Hannah, Daniel and I.

He was positive and optimistic no matter what life threw at him and was widely loved by the people he crossed paths with in life.

I have decided to run London Marathon in honor of him. One of my oldest childhood friends, Alex Bexon, has agreed to support me along the way. Together we hope to raise money for a fantastic cause.

In the three weeks he spent at home, Nottinghamshire Hospice helped provide top quality care, and made his quality of life so much better. Without the service, we wouldn’t have known what to do.

They would combine day and night visits, tending to his needs and ensuring he was as comfortable as possible.

You may not have come across the work of hospices in your life, but they play a critical role in supporting vulnerable people (and their families) and may even one day be there to support you too.

Hospices around the UK offer specialist care and support to people with terminal and life-limiting illnesses. Crucially, they allow people to spend valuable time in comfort at home during vulnerable parts of their life.

But this service costs money. It costs £1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) a year to run hospices, according to Hospice UK. 

Alex and I hope by raising money and running London Marathon we can raise awareness of the service Hospice UK provide.

And we will do it in the memory of Phil Rech.