On the 27th April this year I'm running the London Marathon. Something I never thought I would say again!! It's the 45th London Marathon and I will be 45 when I run it. I was completely shocked when I received an email to say I had a ballot place. I went straight to my phone to call Tom and a photo of Dad and I came up on my screensaver. The end of 2025 also marks 10 years without Dad which brings up all kinds of emotions of sadness, disbelief at how quickly time goes by and gratitude that for 35 years I had the best. I took all these things as signs to put my trainers on and start running and fundraising.

I'll be running to raise money for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice. The Peace Hospice cared for Dad during his last few days and did so much to look after, not just him, but me, Mum and Sarah and all our family and friends who came to see Dad at this very special place. After Dad passed away The Peace continued to support us as a family with their counselling services. So I would love to raise £3,000 knowing that this would almost cover a weeks inpatient care and counselling services for another family in need at the darkest of times..

£813 could cover the cost of three nights of care from a member of the overnight team, in the inpatient unit or in a patient’s home, providing care and support at any time of the night, ensuring nobody feels alone.

£1,200 could pay for counselling sessions for a week for individuals or in groups, supporting patients and carers throughout their journey and bereavement.

In the years after Dad died, family and friends came together to help us fundraise for the Peace Hospice with the Starlight Walk and the Steve Sheppard Golf Days. It's been a while since we've come together to do something for the now merged charity, so how wonderful to be able to run the London Marathon again and fundraise for a cause so close to our hearts.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page, for reading my story and for your support. If you want to see how my running is going I've set up an Instagram account to record my training journey, just search mins_marathon on Insta and you should see my account.

If you want to know more about the great work Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care do to provide care and support for adults and children with a progressive life-limiting illness just follow this link https://renniegrovepeace.org/about-us/our-funding-accounts/how-your-money-helps/

Love Amanda x