My story

Hello,

I'm very excited to have won a place to run in this year's London Marathon and I've chosen to support a charity that is close to my heart: the Royal Free Charity (Fund 270) which provides free massage therapy for patients at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.

Being in hospital is no joke. First, there's the pain that so often comes with illness and treatment. Then there's the indignity of being poked and prodded by medical staff and of having to live with complete strangers whilst dressed in a gown and paper pants. There's the knock to your confidence that comes with an altered body-image and a loss of independence, along with a sadness at being away from home. Lastly, there's the fear and uncertainty which imbues everything. Being in hospital is de-humanising; massage helps patients feel like people again. 

The most common remark about the massage is that it is "soothing." The comfort of human touch is like a balm that gently softens the edges of that horrible 'being in hospital' experience and, for a time at least, it helps people to feel better.

The service was set up in 1993 to offer free 15 minute massages to people receiving treatment for cancer. Since then the service has grown significantly and last year it provided nearly 22,000 massages to people throughout the hospital including:

  • elderly people who have broken bones in a fall or who have dementia
  • people waiting for or recovering from liver and kidney transplants
  • people who've had a stroke, a brain injury or who have Parkinson's Disease or MS
  • women who are pregnant or who have just given birth
  • children and teenagers with eating disorders
  • and people of all ages with cancer, including breast, brain, prostate, leukaemia and lymphoma.

It's a wonderful service that makes a real difference to people's experience of being in hospital. It is funded entirely through donations which is why I've chosen to support it by running the marathon. I hope you will choose to support it by sponsoring me.

Thank you.

Kimberley

 

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 5

My Teams

My company

My charity

Royal Free Charity

Royal Free Charity

Charity Registration No. 1060924

The Royal Free Charity funds research, equipment and improvements to facilities for the benefit of Royal Free patients.This is in addition to NHS required funding. St Peters Trust is now part of the charity and Kidney/Bladder & Prostate Research continues through fund 543. Help us make a difference.

Donations 53

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Very impressed, Kimberley, congratulations ...

Donation by Sax Cucvara on 07/05/12

£30.00

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All that hard work has paid off. Well done Kimberley.

Donation by June Jones on 25/04/12

£25.00

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We hope that you enjoyed it and that your legs arn't too stiff today! Well done! Love from Peter, Sue and Matt

Donation by Sue Rogers on 23/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Donation by Anonymous on 22/04/12

£20.00

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Well done

Donation by J on 22/04/12

£45.72

+ £11.43 Gift Aid

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Go Kimberley go! After months of training the day is almost here. Wishing you lots of luck. Enjoy!

Donation by melanie catling on 21/04/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

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Good luck for tomorrow hope the weather is kind to you. You've done all the hard work now enjoy!!!!!!! ;-) xxx

Donation by Tolu Mumuni on 21/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Best of luck

Donation by zahar marouane on 20/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Good luck Kimberley!

Donation by Guy Southam on 20/04/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

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Go Kimbo go! Looking forward to hearing all about it when you've recovered. Niki x

Donation by Nicola Curtis on 20/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Way to go Kimberley - most impressive and good luck.

Donation by Andrew May on 19/04/12

£25.00

+ £6.25 Gift Aid

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Good luck!!!

Donation by Karim Derrick on 19/04/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

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I thought this the best icon for a good luck message from windy Wellington, NZ! Hope you enjoy the experience .... Kate & Tim x

Donation by Kate Barlow on 19/04/12

£10.00

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Good Luck Kimberley! Look forward to hearing about it over coffee once you've finished

Donation by paul hornsby on 18/04/12

£26.00

+ £6.50 Gift Aid

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Kim, I am in complete awe of your determination and committment to train and complete the marathon. If only Miss Slade could see you now! Bridget x

Donation by Bridget Green on 18/04/12

£5.00

+ £1.25 Gift Aid

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Run Kimberley, run! You're doing an amazing thing... not long to go now. So proud of you :-). Amazing feat; and amazing feet. x x x

Donation by Bridget 2 on 17/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Enjoy the day, it's gonna be really special - and see you for a beer at the end! x

Donation by Paul Bains on 16/04/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

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Well done! - Before you do it! Mummy xx

Donation by Sandra Pledger on 16/04/12

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Looking forward to the hedonistic marathons post race.

Donation by James Jones on 15/04/12

£35.00

+ £8.75 Gift Aid

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I'm SOOO proud of you for doing this - it's amazing. Full steam ahead for a fantastic race day and a big celebration (+ hug) afterwards! XX

Donation by Alexina Pledger on 13/04/12

£50.00

+ £12.50 Gift Aid

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For the many many miles before the 26!!

Donation by No Props thx :-) on 11/04/12

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Donation by @rundembear on 11/04/12

£10.00

+ £2.50 Gift Aid

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The first 10 miles is brilliant, the next 10 is a slog and the last 6.2, well, don't think about that right now. You'll be brilliant. Best of luck xx

Donation by Abigail McLachlan on 09/04/12

£15.00

+ £3.75 Gift Aid

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been a pleasure to run with you over the past few months - sorry I can't be there for the finale, but you are great! x

Donation by Emma Less on 09/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

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Good Luck Kimberley, rather you than me :)

Donation by Sam Drake on 05/04/12

£20.00

+ £5.00 Gift Aid

Donation summary

  • * Online donations£1,233.72
  • Offline donations£1,185.11
  • Text donations£0.00
  • Total raised£2,418.83
  • Gift Aid£273.43

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