Over the last four years Dinglewell Infant School have lost two members of staff to cancer, both cared for by the Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice. Nic Steer passed away in November 2016 and Karen Mann in November 2019. Nic was also my best friend. Learning to do life without Nic at the end of the phone has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. 

Grief is a journey that we all do in our own way and in our own time. There are no right and wrongs with grief, it’s a very personal journey with many stages we have to go through. This year I have decided to turn my grief into something positive. I witnessed first hand the incredible work the hospice does and the support they give both patients and the family and friends of those who are unwell. It's time for me to give something back to Leckhampton Court Hospice to help them continue to be there when it matters for others across Gloucestershire needing their support. 

I started running in January and up until Lockdown I was running 2.5 miles. During lockdown I increased this and ran a half marathon at the end of April, in total clocking up 100 miles for the month of April. This autumn I have set myself a challenge and I hope by completing it to raise over £1,000 for Leckhampton Court Hospice. I will run 300 miles between 1st September and Christmas Eve. During this time I will include three half marathons: 20th September, 1st November and the final one on Christmas Eve. Two colleagues from school will join in and run on Christmas Eve which is also Nics birthday- she would have been 44 years old this year.  We will run the half marathon finishing at the crematorium in Coney Hill.

The care and support Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court provides is FREE but the costs to keep this wonderful facility including the only inpatient unit in the county, and both the hospice at home and day services are forever on the increase. Currently it costs £10,000 every single day to cover all their services, so every pound I can raise will really help, here's a few examples of how the money I raise can make a difference:

• £19 could pay for one hour of expert care, helping people live the best life they possibly can
• £60 could provide an hour of bereavement counselling for someone struggling with the loss of a loved one
• £140 could pay for a hospice nurse for a day
• £500 could pay for a bed for a day of inpatient care for a hospice patient.