Rupert's Marathon Challenge
Rupert Potts is raising money for Young Lives vs Cancer
Story
Hello,
My running adventure started in September 2016 to train for a local 10K that was organised by my friend Nigel Crutchley to raise money for CLIC Sargent. Nige and I drink in the same pub so it was easy for him to get me on board to run a 10k (about two pints I think..) I've always disliked running, so I wasn't best amused when the training started. The 10k was agony but something had made an impression with me...
That 10k became another 10k, then five more, a half marathon and now the London Marathon 2018. All the usual cliches apply here for my motivation: lose weight, mid forties, some kind of crisis, divorce.. pick what you like. However after hearing Nige's tragic story I wanted to run for CLIC Sargent and support an incredible charity working tirelessly for children suffering with cancer.
Nige and his wife Su tragically lost their youngest son Benny, aged 9, to cancer. Not only did CLIC Sargent provide much needed medical advice, they guided the family through some of the darkest hours anyone could imagine, but most importantly they were there for Ben. This is how Nige explains, in his own words, some of the invaluable help they received:
"Sally and Ally (CLIC Sargent nurses) visited us 3-4 times each day towards the end. Together, we'd made sure that Ben didn’t have to cope with any scary machines or have people around him that he didn’t know. And they cared deeply about Su, Luke and I, they were always quietly there for each of us when we needed them the most, intuitively understanding what we were going through and making sure that we were prepared for what we had to face. They are still there for us now, making sure that we are doing OK and helping us with each stage of what, at times feels like a never ending wave of grief.
Lots of children do recover from cancer but some, like Ben, don’t.
10 families each day in the UK are told that their child has cancer – that’s 10 more families like mine who will desperately need the help of CLIC Sargent"
As a father myself its incredibly comforting to know charities such as CLIC Sargent exist. Any donation will be hugely appreciated and will of course motivate me to train that bit harder and complete this challenge.
£4 could pay for a CLIC Sargent storybook that explains childhood cancer to children in simple, easy to understand language.
£15 could pay for a copy of CLIC Sargent's DVD to help bereaved families understand and cope with their grief.
£46 could pay for a CLIC Sargent Social Worker to be there soon after diagnosis, giving a family one-to-one support.
As well as trying to raise as much money as possible I will of course be trying to hit some kind of time challenge... I'll just have to see how the training goes before deciding what my PB goal is. Keep checking back for updates!
Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Rupert x
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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity
My running adventure started in September 2016 to train for a local 10K that was organised by my friend Nigel Crutchley to raise money for CLIC Sargent. Nige and I drink in the same pub so it was easy for him to get me on board to run a 10k (about two pints I think..) I've always disliked running, so I wasn't best amused when the training started. The 10k was agony but something had made an impression with me...
That 10k became another 10k, then five more, a half marathon and now the London Marathon 2018. All the usual cliches apply here for my motivation: lose weight, mid forties, some kind of crisis, divorce.. pick what you like. However after hearing Nige's tragic story I wanted to run for CLIC Sargent and support an incredible charity working tirelessly for children suffering with cancer.
Nige and his wife Su tragically lost their youngest son Benny, aged 9, to cancer. Not only did CLIC Sargent provide much needed medical advice, they guided the family through some of the darkest hours anyone could imagine, but most importantly they were there for Ben. This is how Nige explains, in his own words, some of the invaluable help they received:
"Sally and Ally (CLIC Sargent nurses) visited us 3-4 times each day towards the end. Together, we'd made sure that Ben didn’t have to cope with any scary machines or have people around him that he didn’t know. And they cared deeply about Su, Luke and I, they were always quietly there for each of us when we needed them the most, intuitively understanding what we were going through and making sure that we were prepared for what we had to face. They are still there for us now, making sure that we are doing OK and helping us with each stage of what, at times feels like a never ending wave of grief.
Lots of children do recover from cancer but some, like Ben, don’t.
10 families each day in the UK are told that their child has cancer – that’s 10 more families like mine who will desperately need the help of CLIC Sargent"
As a father myself its incredibly comforting to know charities such as CLIC Sargent exist. Any donation will be hugely appreciated and will of course motivate me to train that bit harder and complete this challenge.
£4 could pay for a CLIC Sargent storybook that explains childhood cancer to children in simple, easy to understand language.
£15 could pay for a copy of CLIC Sargent's DVD to help bereaved families understand and cope with their grief.
£46 could pay for a CLIC Sargent Social Worker to be there soon after diagnosis, giving a family one-to-one support.
As well as trying to raise as much money as possible I will of course be trying to hit some kind of time challenge... I'll just have to see how the training goes before deciding what my PB goal is. Keep checking back for updates!
Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Rupert x
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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity