WE DID IT! Thank you to everyone who has helped me to reach my £1000 fundraising goal. We have raised over £300 each for three fantastic causes, plus more than £200 in Gift Aid, in memory of my brilliant mum.
I ran my first ever 10km on 14th October 2012 in my home town of Tamworth, in aid of St Kentigern Hospice, the Stroke Association and Macmillan Cancer Support.
On 21st July 2011, my mum and dad arrived at my house at 11pm to look after my little girl, Lottie, while I went to the hospital to have my second baby, Tom (he was born early the next morning). At this point my mum and dad were enjoying their retirement and being grandparents to their five (nearly six) young grandchildren, and making plans for their future. Just three months later though, in late October, my mum learnt that she had pancreatic cancer - it had been detected by accident during a routine scan. Soon after receiving this devastating diagnosis, I remember mum saying to me that she hoped she would make it to Tom’s 1st birthday: sadly she wasn't able to, and died only 4 months later on 28th February 2012, aged just 62.
I felt it was really important to do something that would help people to remember her, and would mean that something positive could come from our sad loss. Running 10k was a huge challenge for me – I am mum to two young children and I confess I hadn't done any serious exercise in nearly five years. Running has never come naturally to me - I always struggled along at the back in cross country when I was at school! But I trained hard for 12 weeks, sustained and recovered from a leg injury just in time for the big day, and achieved a great time of 1 hour, 9 minutes and 45 seconds.
A HUGE thanks to everyone who has been so generous and sponsored me, the friends and family who were there to support me on the day itself, and those of you who went the extra mile in letting people know about my efforts and encouraging others to support and sponsor me. Together we reached our £1000 fundraising target - I couldn't have done it without you!
You can still make a donation to one or more of our three great causes by clicking on one of the links below. Any amount no matter how small will be very much appreciated by all of us. You can also donate to our existing fundraising page for Cancer Research UK's Pancreatic Cancer project at http://myprojects.cancerresearchuk.org/fundraise/fundraising-pages/in-memory-of-kath.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. They'll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 25%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too. That means more money goes to the charity, faster, with JustGiving.
