This April I am running the London Marathon in honour of my wonderful Dad, Tony. He died in August 2022 and I continue to miss him every day.

In March 2021, while we were still in lockdown, Dad was diagnosed with a cancer called Mesothelioma. It is a cancer of the pleura caused by exposure to asbestos. It does not, as yet, respond well to any treatment and we were told it was terminal.

The shock was enormous for us all. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. For the next 17 months I felt I was living two lives as I was travelling south as often as I possibly could so to spend some quality time with him.

The last few months of his life were especially hard. His courageous fight was awe inspiring. Breathing became a massive issue as he struggled to fulfil the smallest task, battling both pain and increasing immobility. It was absolutely heartbreaking to witness yet he rarely complained.

During the last couple of months he could not be left alone. We had wonderful carers coming in twice daily to help look after Dad. This helped us to keep him at home. As a family we became very aware of how hard it is to be a full time carer. There are no breaks. The Carers Trust do such invaluable work, helping people in so many different ways. We raised money for them at Dad’s memorial service. I’d like to continue that fundraising through this challenge and I’m grateful that they have given me the opportunity to run for them.

I’m doing a half marathon this coming weekend. This will be the furthest I have run so far. I’m pretty daunted, nervous and terrified but at the same time am excited about the challenge of the next 12 weeks.

I’m doing this for my Dad and hope to make him proud. Thank you 💞

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