It is nearly six months since I lost my beautiful husband Jason and Lucas lost his adoring and loving Daddy to a devastating disease. Four years ago Jason was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroendocrine cancer and life changed beyond all recognition. We now have to accept a life without him.

To know Jason was to love him. He was special, not just to his family and friends but to everyone he met, he touched so many and made everyone feel special in his company. He had a way, the charm, the chat and that smile. He is sorely missed and forever loved.

Myself and an amazing crew are running in the Belfast Marathon this May in memory of Jason and to raise money for the Northern Ireland Hospice. The wonderful people in the Hospice cared for Jason for 7 weeks and supported me, Lucas and our families through this awful time. This service made an unbearable situation, a bit more bearable. We could be together as a family and have much more privacy and comfort than would have been possible in a normal hospital setting. It became a home from home. It provided safety. One comfort in particular was when an extra bed was brought in so we could lie comfortably next to each other, even though there was a pull down bed already in the room. Things like that, seemingly small, meant a lot to us. Lucas stayed too, every other night, he loved to stay, wherever Mummy and Daddy are, is home. He brought his football and could kick it outdoors, just outside our room.

I cannot adequately put into words how grateful I am that this service was there when we most needed it. Fifteen patients can only been taken at one time and the Hospice only relies on fundraising to continue it's work.

So please support us. There are sixteen of us involved in the Marathon, so there is great potential to reach out to a lot of people and raise money for the Hospice, so that the amazing people who work there can give patients and the families the things that they need at the end of their life. We never envisaged that we would need these things.

Myself and five others: Emma Corish, Stuart Graham, Gill Evans, Ksenia Burnett and Kerrie Sweeney are training to run the Marathon. It is everyone's first Marathon and are all a bit scared but very motivated and determined.

There are two Relay Teams: Julie Turkington, Karen Gilmore, Lindsay McAleer, Helen Elliot, Keri Evitt, Christopher Hassard, Nicola Graham, Christie McCord, Graham Elliot and Alana Johnston.

Wow!! An awesome bunch of people! I didn't anticipate how many would want to get involved and how friends who have never run before have taken up running to do this! This will be a challenge for everyone involved. To my family and friends, I love you all, thank you for doing this with me. I know that you all love and miss Jason every day. He'd be laughing, thinking we're all nuts! To those friends of friends who didn't know Jason but were touched by our story and the cause that we are raising money for, thank you so very much. Lisa xx