Thank you for visiting my Just Giving page. 

I am running my first ever (VIRTUAL!!) marathon on 4th October 2020 (postponed from the original London Marathon date of 26th April) for Cornwall Hospice Care and my aim is to raise £1,850 for this amazing charity.

As you are probably aware things have changed somewhat for London Marathon 2020 since my original post on this site! Following the original cancellation and then various long waits for news it was decided that the rescheduled London Marathon on October 4^th would also be cancelled, and that runners could run a virtual race at a location of their choice on the day, and also receive a place in a future London marathon. Following this announcement I was due to run an organised virtual marathon along the Camel Trail in Cornwall organised by my charity Cornwall Hospice Care. Sadly based on the latest government regulations they can no longer organise this event so I am back to my original plan to run an individual marathon, on October 4^th, along the Camel Trail. I will also be running the London Marathon in 2023.

Cornwall Hospice Care is a Cornish charity that provides specialist care for people with terminal illnesses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their clinical teams support in and out patients and their families at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice in St Austell, St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle and in Cornwall’s hospitals, care homes and in the community.

I am running for Cornwall Hospice Care as my Dad Bernie contracted Mesothelioma in 2016 and spent his last days in the Mount Edgcumbe Hospice in 2017. I was touched by the level of care and respect shown to him and my family during the last few days of his life by the staff at Mount Edgcumbe. It made a terrible time easier to bear for all of us, and I would like the chance to give something back to show my and my family's appreciation for this. During my Dad's stay I realised how little government funding Cornwall Hospice Care receives and how reliant they are on fundraising to operate and maintain their high standards. Since my original post I have also lost an old friend Lee Turner to cancer. Lee passed away in August at the same age as myself, and was a patient at one of Cornwall’s Hospice Care’s facilities. He wanted people to support Cornwall Hospice Care in his memory. The  money I raise really will make a big difference to my charity – due to the COVID-19 pandemic they have been forced to cancel numerous events this year, which makes public support absolutely vital for them, now more than ever.

Every year it costs over £5.3 million to provide the specialist care they offer to their in and out patients, their families and their carers. Only 19% of this is funded through a contribution from Cornwall’s NHS Commissioners who in the last financial year gave them c. £1 million. The rest is raised by the public who leave them legacies, support fundraising events, play their lottery and donate to, and buy in, their shops.

Please donate as little or as much as you can to support this charity... and also to keep me motivated on my lonely 26.2 miles on Sunday 4th! The training is going well so far; Strava tells me I have covered 400 miles so far this year, with 20 miles my furthest run to date.

PS - My profile photo is motivational only and not reflective of my expectations of race day!!

Big thanks

Nick