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Background:

In 2016, my mother passed away in East Lancs Hospice as a result of bowel cancer.  The care she received was second to none.  Many families have experienced care given by hospices to their own family members.  They are an essential part of the palliative care offering when patients are not well enough or need too much support to be at home, but don't need to remain in hospital.   They ensure that appropriate pain-relieving care is delivered in a less medicalised environment that is also more adapted to accommodating their families, and yet only 1/3 of their funding needs are met by the government and a shortage of beds means that only 1 in 4 people that need a hospice will be able to be accommodated in one.

How does running 100 miles in January 2022 help Hospice UK?

The 100 mile challenge in January 2022 is a starting point of physical activity challenges that I would like to promote personally and through my business, Walkrite, and raise money for Hospice UK for 2 reasons.  The first is that they are under-funded already and current projections suggest their funding shortfall is set to worsen as more people will need their care in the future, but the second is that we can all do more to reduce our chances of requiring the services of a hospice by being more physically active.

How does being more physically active reduce your chances of needing hospice care?

Hospices care for patients with life-limiting (non-curable) conditions either through respite or end of life care.  Some of these conditions, such as:

Dementia

Conditions that lead to heart, liver and renal failure

Some respiratory conditions

Some causes of frailty in older age

Some cancers (including bowel cancer)

are linked to being less physically active.  Increasing physical activity and strength training therefore is one way of easing the burden on hospices by lowering our personal risk of developing conditions that may lead to us requiring hospice care during our lifetimes.

What will success look like?

At the end of this challenge and other challenges throughout the year, we aim to raise at least £5000 for Hospice UK but we also want to raise awareness of the World Health Organisation Physical Activity guidelines which is an evidence-based guide to being more active and reducing your risks of ill-health.  If we can convince just one person of this, that will be success!

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 Hospice UK. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.