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On Sunday 13th April 2008 I completed my first (& last to date) London Marathon in honour of my Dad. Mum was absolutely thrilled that I applied for and ran the Marathon in his honour. She was so supportive, cycling along beside me when I trained at home in Tadworth. We made quite a sight for sore eyes! 

Sadly in 2010 Mum was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma and after many years of battling it with various treatments, by Christmas 2016 it was clear that it had spread. She became increasingly unwell in January and a CT Scan revealed metastases in all her vital organs. In mid-February she was referred to the Palliative Care Team at Princess Alice but on the day she was due to be assessed by the community nurse from the Hospice, she was admitted to Epsom District General Hospital. 

Mum chose to receive end of life care in Princess Alice Hospice. She was so relieved to be there once she was transferred from Epsom Hospital. All the staff were so wonderful and she felt safe and so cared for, as did Sam & I. Mum died peacefully on 12th March 2017 (almost 10 years after Dad died), with Sam & I by her bedside. Princess Alice Hospice was a wonderful haven at what was such a difficult time for us and we can never thank them enough for their kindness, care & all that they did. 

Having said in 2008 I would never run another marathon, I feel I owe it to Mum to do so one more time as a token of my love for her and as a 'Thank you' to all the staff at Princess Alice for all they did for Mum,  Sam & I. She was the best Mum in the world & we miss her terribly.  We have been so lucky to have so much support from family and friends, making us feel so loved at such a sad time and I know they will support me in this endeavour too. 

I am under no illusion as to how daunting a task running the London Marathon again will be, 11 years older than I was last time (it was challenging 11 years ago!). Sadly, I had to defer my place last year due to injury (a stress fracture of my hip, which was agony!). This year I am taking every precaution to avoid injury and am determined that I will cross that finishing line. Although I am particularly missing my training buddy on her cycle, I'm sure she will be with me in spirit every step of the way.

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