My story

*Update 27th September*

Well the races are over and what fun we had! Ally and his team all finished in the top 20 and I managed a 51.37 time for the 10K. All of the results are available on www.moorpark10k.org.uk and a list of all the runners is at the bottom of this page.

Many many thanks to the Shutes, Lukas, Jerroms, Piepers, Fairleys, Edwards's and Rose-Seniors for providing great support before and during the event and also for supplying a few tasty athletes! I have updated the photos showing you all how we got on.

We are now on the cusp of a whopping £6,000 in donations. If you are new here, there is still plenty of time to donate, so please do: all the money will still go to The Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre.

The 25th September was an emotional and inspiring day. Over 1000 people coming together to challenge themselves mentally and physically and in doing so, raising funds for a great charity. It was a genuine pleasure to be part of it; what a superb 14 days! I'm off for a beer...

*Update 25th September*

We are just off to the races with the incredible feeling that you lovely people have donated over £5,000 to the Linda Jackson Macmilan Centre! Thank you so much. WOW!

The response has been nothing short of fantastic and I appreciate all of you for your lovely wishes, donations and for spreading the word (Matt was probably responsible for a grand, himself!)

I will update you all later and let you know how we got on; but we are sure to run faster, knowing how much this meant to you all and for your wonderful generosity...

Hi All,

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I will try and make this brief (difficult to believe, I know!) and I apologise in advance to those who may get upset at the content below.

My son Ally (aged 9) and I are going to race on the 25th Sept to raise some money for a cause that is very close to us right now. We have been training hard for the last 5 weeks and plan to give a good account of ourselves. That's the theory, anyway! 

Back in February this year my wife, and Ally's mum, Lyn, was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer and pronounced terminally ill. Following the shock that came with the diagnosis we set about going on with life as normal and enjoying the ride. Lyn was strong and family life remained fairly unaltered outside of hospital visits.

Unfortunately, after 3 good months, Lyn's condition deterioated and in June and the decision was made to give her urgent radiotherapy to her brain. The effects she felt during this were severe and she had to move into the hospice (Michael Sobel House) at Mount Vernon Hospital to manage her pain and other symptoms. Whilst there her condition worsened and she began to struggle with many actions that most of us take for granted.

For nearly four weeks the team of nurses and volunteers that looked after her were absolutely terrific and never less than inspirational. The Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre team provided support, encouragement, care and advice and helped with many challenges that we faced as a family. In particular, they helped Lyn and made her stay so much better than it could have been. From cups of coffee and a chat to haircuts, counselling and advice, the whole team supported her through her ordeal and did all they could to assist.

She is now back at home being an awesome mother and inspirational wife and, of course, the fight to hold the disease back goes on. We continue to get support, as required, from all at Mount Vernon and just knowing that they are there for just about anything, is a source of comfort.

Ally and I hope to raise some money so that the Centre can continue to assist cancer sufferers and their families by providing the wonderful levels of support and encouragement that they gave us all this time round. Every pound you donate will go towards the Centre and be used to help those in the difficult and worrying circumstances that comes with this disease. I will cover the admin costs that arise from using this site.

Thank you so much for reading. Eight weeks ago this race was just a minor passing thought, as we saw the posters on hospital notice boards; on the 25th Sept, Lyn will be cheering us over the finish line, thanks to some wonderful people.

James & Ally X

*UPDATE 20th September 2011

Wow! We got to target this morning and keep going! Thank you everyone for your lovely messages and donations. Ally now knows that he has been sponsored for more than a pound for every metre he runs!

Thanks to the friends that are coming to join us to run on the day and are also doing their bit to raise support and funds for this Centre:

Junior Runners

Niamh Shute

Grace Shute

Bradley Jerrom

Jack Shute

Finn Edwards

Adult 10KM

Ellen Rose-Senior

Matt Shute

Michele Shute

David Luka

Offline Donators

Anne Marie Hutchinson

Heath Waller

Gavin Jones

Rolley

Christine and Ed Pieper

Sapna and Rick Kukadia

Team Mappin & Webb Cambridge

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

My gallery 8

My Teams

My company

My charity

Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre

Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre

Charity Registration No. 1053338

The Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre supports people affected by cancer. At the drop-in centre at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, people will find a friendly face, a listening ear and answers to their questions about cancer and its treatments. Services also include complementary therapies and counselling.

Donations 148

smiley-lone.png

Well done James, proud of you. Emily and Ryan Bolton and Jack the dog!

Donation by craig bolton on 27/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

Well done to you all, best wishes.

Donation by JOSEPH AINSLIE on 27/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

What a wonderful team. Well done!

Donation by SHIRLEY RYDER on 27/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

smiley-trio.png

Very many congratulations to all the West Lodge runners! A brilliant achievement for a very special cause. Keep on running...

Donation by Mrs Rackham!! on 27/09/11

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

I'm a colleague of Lyn from Thomas Cook. Please pass on my best wishes to her and the best of luck to you guys - fantastic.

Donation by alan white on 27/09/11

£20.00

Good luck James and Ally.

Donation by Anton Dominic & family on 27/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

Brilliant result guys, well done.

Donation by Ed Martin on 26/09/11

£20.00

Well done guys, we're really proud of you all!

Donation by Rik Hine on 26/09/11

£50.00

Best wishes to Cook family .

Donation by Davinder Sohi on 26/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

Good luck James & Ally I hope all goes well A lovely thought for a fantastic cause!

Donation by Peter Smith on 26/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

James & Ally, You're an inspiration to us all. Keep on running!

Donation by Michael Duffin on 25/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

Hope your run went well thinking of you from San Francisco

Donation by Jonathan Kronn on 25/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

Hope the run went well - great effort for a great cause. Love to you all.

Donation by Clare,Mark, Katherine & Isobel Donnelly on 25/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

Good luck Ally & James - great thing you're doing. All the best. Andy, Lucy, Ella, Harriet and Ned.

Donation by Andy Lane on 25/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

James and Ally. What a fantastic job to raise this amount! Best wishes and love tomorrow. We will be cheering you on! Good luck! The Fairleys.

Donation by calum fairley on 25/09/11

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

James & Ally, Will be thinking of you. Regards, Veronica McTigue

Donation by Veronica McTigue on 24/09/11

Good Luck James & Ally! Best wishes from the Team at Fenchurch Street xx

Donation by Aleksandra Straczynska on 24/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

I am glad to take you through the £5,000 barrier- a great achievement by you and Ally. Good Luck tomorrow - we will be right behind you!

Donation by Shutes on 24/09/11

£100.00

+ £25.00 Gift Aid

Good Luck with the run James & Ally. Best wishes Karl & Hayley

Donation by Karl Bailey on 24/09/11

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Well done (in advance) to you both ......but don't be late for tennis ! Best wishes, Ben

Donation by ben rickayzen on 24/09/11

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

Good luck Ally and James, and all the best for a worthy cause. From Jai (football), Simran, Hema and Sunil

Donation by Sunil Patel on 24/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

Good luck with the run and all the best to you all.

Donation by Delroy Jordan on 24/09/11

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

shoe.png

James and Ally have a great day,I know you will both do it with ease. We will be thinking of you all from one family to another.

Donation by Val & Robert Read on 24/09/11

£25.00

Good luck, love and best wishes to you all Jan, Ralph, Adam and Jenna XXXX

Donation by Janet Brittain on 24/09/11

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

Good luck to both of you.

Donation by Thomas Asafo-Agyei on 24/09/11

£50.00

Donation summary

  • * Online donations£6,562.00
  • Offline donations£520.00
  • Text donations£0.00
  • Total raised£7,082.00
  • Gift Aid£1,371.75

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.