It’s me again 👍. Hello everyone. It’s a very tricky time. I was doing the GNR this year with my daughter Ruth, (Emma’s mum). Quite appropriate since she nagged me into doing my first in 2012 when I’d never ran anything since school days. Almost 10 years on I’m still running. More slowly mind. The GNR is cancelled so I’ve entered the GNR solo. I am doing 40 runs to celebrate 40 years of the GNR. They are of any length but I always aim for a minimum 5k/3 miles. I do four each week or occasionally 5 

Emma died in 2013, over 7 years ago, at the age of eight. She had been diagnosed with Leukaemia just after her 3rd birthday. After treatment she relapsed and had a bone marrow transplant donated by her brother Kieran. It was a particularly horrible time. Eventually she got to nursery then school. She adored her school and her teachers. She had lots of catching up to do. I loved reading with her. We read alternate sentences. She had an amazing sense of humour, she was brave and she loved life. Just after her 8th birthday the leukaemia returned. It was untreatable now and she died a few weeks later in the Great North Children’s Hospital surrounded by her family and her much loved Dr Gail. Terribly missed. Always loved. Always remembered with a smile. 

If you’re able to sponsor one of my 40 runs here’s the idea. You pick a number you like and sponsor me £1 up to £5 maximum for that number. Go to my Facebook page and put your number in the comments of my fundraising post. If you give more than £5 pick an additional  number for each fiver  I’ll do the run, upload a pic and tag you in it . I’ll also upload the calories I used. Buy yourself a treat and eat those calories as a reward for your virtual effort. Obviously if you sponsor more than one run you qualify for more treats  🙌  You’re awesome ❤️

One last thing please. Will you add 15 pence to your donation. This is very personal, it celebrates Emma’s age. I’ll total them up and give a donation to another children’s charity. 

Thank you so much. John