Who am I ?

I’m Anne Youngman, 64 years old, originally from Wooler and I’m definitely NOT a natural athlete.

What will I be doing?

The St Cuthbert’s way 100k ultra marathon. This includes - hiking up the Cheviot hills, running downhill, heather hopping over moors, bouncing over bridges, clambering over rocks, wandering through woodlands, squelching my way through peat-bogs and dodging oncoming traffic on the Lindisfarne causeway. Oh and an elevation of 8067 feet.

I start at 2.30 am on 20 th July in Melrose and after 64.2 gruelling miles I hope to reach my destination on Lindisfarne before the 10pm cut off.

I have never run this far before and it will be HUGE challenge.

Why am I doing this ?

To raise money for two charities;

1) Macmillan Cancer Support

2) Hospice Care North Northumberland

If possible I’d like to keep donations roughly equal (you don’t have to donate to both!)

What are my special reasons for doing this?

Last year my step-father, Derek Fairnington, got a diagnosis of terminal cancer. We knew there was absolutely nothing we could do to change this. It felt the only thing we could do was to try to give him a “good” death. By that I mean; peaceful, dignified, free from pain and fear, and with friends and family close at hand.

Derek did have a very peaceful death. It was without pain or fear and at home, in Wooler, as he wanted (with my mum and I beside him.)

I am SO grateful for this.

I can never fully express my gratitude to Macmillan Cancer Support and to the HospiceCare team for the way they looked after Derek and the rest of the family. This is my way of trying to say “THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART”. It’s also a way of helping them continue to support other families when times are really hard.