Stephen, Emilie and Tim Richardson are organising and participating in a half marathon, (thats over 13 miles or 21km!!), in memory of Helen and in aid of The Sue Ryder Hospice at Leckhampton Court, Cheltenham. A team of over 30 runners were all due to run in the Royal London Parks Half Marathon, but as this has been postponed to 2021, we decided to organise our own event in Cheltenham on October 10th 2020. The original weekend of the Royal Parks run.

Helen Richardson died of liver cancer one year ago after a very brave, five year fight. She responded incredibly well to chemotherapy and had such a positive outlook that throughout her illness she enjoyed not just a normal life, but a great life! Her illness made her appreciate all she had and everything around her and few, apart from those closest to her, knew she was ill at all. She vastly exceeded the expectations of the medics but when the drugs stopped working and it became clear that the cancer couldn't be stopped, The Hospice at Leckhampton Court stepped in and were amazing.

The “Health System” worked very well all the time she was receiving treatment, but as soon as there was no treatment left to give and she was in desperate need of palliative care and pain relief, it felt like there was nowhere to go …

… and then, literally thank God, we discovered Leckhampton Court.

They gave Helen an in-patient bed, made her comfortable, relieved her pain and basically allowed her to spend the last two weeks of her life in comfort, security and dignity.

We cannot thank the Hospice and its staff enough and that’s why we want to raise money for them.

It costs the Hospice around £500 per patient per day to provide in patient care, yet all this was provided to us free of charge with no bills and no requests for a credit card to cover her stay. Unbelievable!

Yet, this money has to come from somewhere. Helen’s two week stay would have cost the Hospice around £7000 and it is our intention to raise enough money from our run to pay at least double this sum back to Sue Ryder.

So, please give generously to this great cause!!

SEE ALL THE RUNNERS IN THE POSTS BELOW AND IN THE GALLERY

Sue Ryder supports people through the most difficult times of their lives. Whether that’s a terminal illness, the loss of a loved one or a neurological condition – they’re there when it matters. Their doctors, nurses and carers give people the compassion and expert care they need to help them live the best life they possibly can.