This is my dad, Richard, or Rick to some.  This was taken on my 40th birthday nearly 10 years ago.  A fantastic musician who not only played but wrote a lot of his own material.

Husband, father, brother, granddad, loved so much by so many.

4 years after this photo was taken (almost to the day), dad went into hospital with Atrial Fibrillation - a heart condition. We visited him on the Friday night and he was laughing and joking, I even made a video of him giving a message to his fans.

The next morning the hospital called to say dad had suffered a stroke. I remember watching him distressed, not understanding what was happening to him.  Eventually he fell into a sleep and calmed.

The specialist called mum the next day and explained that a clot from dads heart had been pushed onto his brain causing a massive stroke. She said if he were to wake up he would need 24/7 care. She said the stroke had destroyed the creative side of his brain - his music, his talent, his life.  He would never hold a guitar again or teach the kids songs with rude words.

Dad slept for days, I told everyone he was 'healing', but I was just in denial. Each day he slept took him further from us.

After 12 days, dad finally let go.  He was 69 and a young 69 at that!

That was nearly 6 years ago now and we still miss him every day. He has missed so much, his grandsons growing into lovely young men, his first granddaughter being born and a daughter getting married.

I know I'm not 'running' this marathon, nor am I doing it in one go, but it is still a challenge for me and my dog Boo - who will probably need carrying most of the time but we are going to give it a go.

Thank you for visiting my page and if you have sponsored us, me and Boo thank you from the bottom of our hearts

Sara & Boo xx