Story
The necklace I wear has a pendant in the shape of a heart and the words, ‘I can and I will ... for Dad’ engraved upon it. When a run feels like hard work I say to myself, ‘When your legs get tired, run with your heart.’ We thought Dad’s heart was strong. We were wrong.
On Sunday 3rd February, I’m aiming to run my 100th marathon. The original target was 45 marathons before the age of 45. Dad died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 45. I ran my 45th marathon in September 2016 on the weekend of what would’ve been Dad’s 69th birthday. I decided not to stop ...
Dad had 3 passions in life - his family, Newcastle United and horse racing. He passed on his love for NUFC (perhaps a curse unfortunately) to my sister and me. Mam had no choice but to take over Dad’s season ticket. Dad died whilst watching the highlights of Newcastle United’s 5-1 victory over Brentford in March 1993 - we never could understand why Robert Lee’s wonder goal was disallowed. Dad never saw us gain promotion in 1993. He never knew of Mike Ashley either! We have a stone bearing Dad’s name at St James’ Park. The lettering is wearing away as Mam stands on it before every single home match.
It is fitting that my 100th marathon will be in the shadow of St James’ Park - 16 (and a bit!) laps of Leazes Park. I remember Dad ‘singing’ ‘We all live in the Leazes End’ and that’s where we have our season tickets.
My 100th marathon will be on Mam’s 69th birthday. She has been both Mam and Dad to Shona and me since she was the age I am now and I haven’t made it easy for her. She has waited for me at the end of the majority of my marathons which is a simple reflection of the fact that she is always there for me, no matter what. She is the strongest person I know.
The journey to 100 marathons has been a great one with too many memories to mention here. Far more important than any medal has been the people I have met and run with along the way, so many of them I now call friends.
Running keeps me sane (I think!) and the memories make me smile. And it’s all with the strength of my Dad, my Mam and my little sister pushing me on.
I wasn’t going to open a fundraising page this time but if anyone feels they’d like to donate to the British Heart Foundation via this page as I run more laps than I’ve ever done before, I’d be very touched and very grateful.
Thank you xx
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
On Sunday 3rd February, I’m aiming to run my 100th marathon. The original target was 45 marathons before the age of 45. Dad died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 45. I ran my 45th marathon in September 2016 on the weekend of what would’ve been Dad’s 69th birthday. I decided not to stop ...
Dad had 3 passions in life - his family, Newcastle United and horse racing. He passed on his love for NUFC (perhaps a curse unfortunately) to my sister and me. Mam had no choice but to take over Dad’s season ticket. Dad died whilst watching the highlights of Newcastle United’s 5-1 victory over Brentford in March 1993 - we never could understand why Robert Lee’s wonder goal was disallowed. Dad never saw us gain promotion in 1993. He never knew of Mike Ashley either! We have a stone bearing Dad’s name at St James’ Park. The lettering is wearing away as Mam stands on it before every single home match.
It is fitting that my 100th marathon will be in the shadow of St James’ Park - 16 (and a bit!) laps of Leazes Park. I remember Dad ‘singing’ ‘We all live in the Leazes End’ and that’s where we have our season tickets.
My 100th marathon will be on Mam’s 69th birthday. She has been both Mam and Dad to Shona and me since she was the age I am now and I haven’t made it easy for her. She has waited for me at the end of the majority of my marathons which is a simple reflection of the fact that she is always there for me, no matter what. She is the strongest person I know.
The journey to 100 marathons has been a great one with too many memories to mention here. Far more important than any medal has been the people I have met and run with along the way, so many of them I now call friends.
Running keeps me sane (I think!) and the memories make me smile. And it’s all with the strength of my Dad, my Mam and my little sister pushing me on.
I wasn’t going to open a fundraising page this time but if anyone feels they’d like to donate to the British Heart Foundation via this page as I run more laps than I’ve ever done before, I’d be very touched and very grateful.
Thank you xx
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.