My mum died in September 2019. She had been suffering with MS and had multiple stints with cancer over the course of 20+ years. She eventually left this world behind after her final struggles with illness. She died after spending a number of months living with womb cancer, one of the 5 gynaecological cancers.
I bought a cuddly rabbit the day after she passed. I had it in my head that if it went with her when we said goodbye then at least she wouldn't have to be committed to the earth alone. I know, it sounds ridiculous. I named the bunny 'Howie'. Believe it or not, having this stuffed animal there for all of the 9 days that I had it helped me come to terms with all the crap that came with her passing and the impending funeral.
The morning of the funeral I went to the chapel of rest to see Mum. I placed Howie into the top right side of her jacket. I walked home after. On the table was a paper bag with a silly note on it that was apparently from Howie. It mentioned that he had sent his cousin 'Harry' to keep me company and look after me forever and that Howie would miss me. It was obviously written by Sally (my wife). You've no idea how much that set me off. Inside the bag was Harry, the aqua blue happy little stuffed bunny. He now comes running with me, along with Timmy because life doesn't last long enough to spend it in misery. If little things like Timmy and Harry can make just one person a tenth happier than they were then that's mission accomplished.
So, I decided to create 'The Happy Harry Hop' & the 'Hopwarts Harry' Virtual 10Ks. You can run, walk or shuffle a route chosen by yourself in the timeframe given. All you have to do is send your 10K or more data and a photo of you out on your adventure wearing your unique Harry bib number, which is emailed to you. You'll then receive your bespoke 'Harry' bling.
Best thing of all is that after medals and admin are covered, every penny will go direct to 'The Eve Appeal'. 'The Eve Appeal' is the only UK national charity raising awareness and funding research and raising awareness into the five gynaecological cancers: womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal. If I can do something in the way of helping research into any of these that may one day either save a life or prolong it just to give a relative some extra precious time with a loved one then my own world will be a little brighter.
Please note:
The Happy Harry Hop 10k is sold out but you can still enter Hopwarts Harry 10k and donate money regardless of taking part in the challenge.
Dave and Harry will be running the entire length of Chesil Beach on March 29th 2020. Dave aims to be the 4th recorded person to take on this challenge and Harry will be the first bunny also :)
