Well, here I am with a place in this year’s 2013 London Marathon having been quite adamant that I would never take part.

I’ve been running for a long time now, having done the Great North Run (half marathon) twice with the odd 5 or 10k thrown in.

Sally would often say to me, “When are you doing the marathon?”  My reply would be “Never; I’m never running it”. Sally and I had been friends for over 15 years and used to see one another most Thursday evenings, either round at hers or mine.

Sally passed away last July having suffered for many years with carcinoid cancer.

Sally was a well-loved person in Burwell having been involved with many clubs and associations within the village.  Even through her illness she would always give a helping hand and have words of encouragement for all.

When Sally took a turn for the worse she was lucky to have a place at The Arthur Rank Hospice, a place she had visited during her illness.

The day before Sally passed away, another close friend, Dee and I visited her.  I’d never been to a hospice before, I’d heard lots of good things about them, but had never actually visited.  I was totally blown away by the visit, especially the gentleness and kindness of the staff.  From the first minute we walked through the door into the reception, there was a sense of serenity and peacefulness about the place

The hospice was one of the charities that Sally wanted donations to go to following her death.  So, it was back in September when I suddenly thought “Right, I’m going to apply for a charity place through the hospices to help to raise money in memory of Sally, and to support the hospices who give so much support and love to those who are ill and their families”.

So, here I am, asking for all those who loved and knew Sally to help me run the 26.2 miles in aid of the The Hospices so that they can carry on helping those who are in need of respite and their families.

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