On 20th November 2009, almost half a decade ago, my amazing Mum passed away from Cancer. She was only 44.

Before Mum was diagnosed, she had also suffered from Fibromyalgia, a muscular disorder which often left her weak and in pain, meaning her cancer symptoms were not easy to spot.  

When she was finally diagnosed with the terminal illness, we were told it was Multiple Myeloma Leukaemia (also known as Plasma Cell Leukaemia), which only affects around 4 in 100,000 people worldwide.  It is aggressive and can be very difficult to treat.

But, Mum was a fighter and despite the pain she suffered, she always tried to see the bright side and to be very open instead of hiding the disease away. A perfect example was when she bought herself a t-shirt that said 'My Leukaemia is Rarer Than Yours'.  She might not have been happy about having Cancer but she saw the lighter side and was 'pleased' that she had a type of cancer that "no-one else has got". 

Rather than keep it quiet, Mum understood how long she had left and made sure that all of us knew, which meant we could make the most of our time together.

One thing my Mum didn't like, however, was being stuck in the hospital and she would much rather have spent all of her time at home.  

The Butterwick Hospice helped all of us out a lot.  They gave us respite in the form of massages, counselling and support. They gave my Mum comfort in the form of a comfortable bed, more massages, a support network of other positive people with Cancer and even events and workshops to give Mum something to do whilst I still worked and my brothers and sisters went to school and college.  In particular she found that she loved to make handmade cards and in the last few months, we all got handmade occasion cards using some of her photos and materials provided by The Butterwick Hospice.   Then, in Mum's final days, they made it possible for her to be at home, in her own bed, surrounded by the people that she loved when she passed away.  

My Mum, Julie, lost her short battle almost half a decade ago, but her fighting spirit and positive outlook lives on. One of the last things she said to me before she died was "go your own way and do what you want to do".  She told me that life is short and that she wanted me to not have any regrets when my time is up.

                          I don't plan to.

So, this year, I will be getting involved in as many gruelling and difficult runs and events as I can to try and raise some money for The Butterwick Hospice and to hopefully make my Mum proud.

My growing list of events are:

18th May - Run Durham, 10k Trail Run --> COMPLETED IN A PB OF 52:27

15th June - National Trust Coastal Trail Run, 13.1 Mile Half Marathon, Durham --> COMPLETED IN A PB OF 2:14:37

28th June - World Corporate Games, 10k Track Run, Liverpool --> Turned out to be actually 9k. COMPLETED IN A PB 9k OF 45:02

6th July - Lakeland Trails Coniston, 13.1 Mile Half Marathon, The Lake District --> COMPLETED IN A NEW PB OF 2:03:22

2nd August - Total Warrior, 10k Obstacle Race, Cumbria --> COMPLETED IN 1:42:13

24th August - River Rat Race, 10k Obstacle Course, Stockton-On-Tees --> COMPLETED IN 1:08:40

7th September - Great North Run, 13.1 Mile Half Marathon, Newcastle --> COMPLETED IN 2:15:02

4th October - Rivington Trail Run, 13.1 Mile Half Marathon, Lancashire --> DEFERRED DUE TO INJURY

1st November - Helvellyn Trail Run, 15k Trail Run, The Lake District --> DEFERRED DUE TO INJURY 

14th December-  Hardmoors Roseberry Topping, 29.4 Mile UltraMarathon, North Yorkshire --> COMPLETED IN 7:15:00

This has been just crazy! Especially finishing on an ultra marathon which was the toughest thing I have ever, ever had to do!  

Donate now!

Help me make my Mum proud!