Ruth and Hannah are going to run the London Marathon.

What? Do you know how far that is?

Ruth and Hannah are going to try to run the London Marathon.

It's a really long way. 

Ruth and Hannah are going to try to run the London Marathon to raise lots of money for Macmillan.

Right, good, but it's a really, REALLY long way. Why?

Ruth

Last February my lovely Dad, Steve, was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer. He underwent 5 rounds of chemo to prolong the brutally short prognosis, managed some precious time with family and friends but then, after a short time in a hospice, he died in August. Dad remained his upbeat, engaging, witty self to the very end and he's left a huge gap in our lives. 

Dad was a keen runner and once he was too unwell to run himself, he got a massive amount of pleasure from watching my brother and his partner run the Dorchester marathon. As soon as that was over he started nagging me and my partner to enter the Bournemouth half. Dad didn't get to watch that one and we missed his encouragement horribly. We did finish it though and after a long sit down, I decided never to do anything so silly again...

Hannah

One lovely sunny evening, my best friend Ruth came to stay and we went for a gentle jog around my local south London park. It was the week after the London Marathon. Amongst talking about how much we both missed Steve  - who'd been friends with my parents and I'd known my whole life - we started reminiscing about the times we'd watched him run the London Marathon. It had been so much fun. Watching. Cheering. Waving silly signs. Eating our picnic. 

An idea bubbled up on that pleasant jog round that pretty park. It seemed possible. Maybe? Ruth had run a half marathon and I had too (albeit a few years and a couple of kids ago). We egged each other on. If we could do it, we'd do it for Macmillan and in memory of Steve.

And so here we both are.

The care Dad/Steve received during his illness was invaluable so we're taking on this challenge to help fund support for someone else facing a terrifying, gut-wrenching cancer diagnosis.

If you can spare any cash to sponsor us in this foolish endeavour and help keep us going, we'd both really appreciate it because, to be honest, we're both quite scared!!

Thank you

Ruth Cooper

Hannah Issett 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.Macmillan Cancer Support are here to help you find your best way through from the moment of diagnosis, so you’re able to live life as fully as you can.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.