Dear everybody reading this page, 

2019 threw a huge curve ball at our family when our beloved Mum was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in the August of last year. She was given only a few months to live, but her fight and spirit kept her going for a couple of months longer to enjoy her 11th grandchild’s Christening in the October, and her final Christmas with her loving family. We said goodbye to her on the 27th February of this year. She was 69.

Any sort of treatment available wasn't going to be effective for Mum so she was looked after for the 6 months she had by her wonderful palliative nurse Andrea from Macmillan Cancer Support who not only gave Mum medical support but all of us psychological support as well. To witness someone you love so much who was so fit and healthy being taken from us so quickly and visibly by this awful disease was truly shocking and we still don't understand it all 6 months on. Andrea gave us peace of mind and calm on the very difficult days, and wisdom and practical advice at other times. We knew we could call her at any time and her support has been invaluable to us all.

Niki became a volunteer for Macmillan Cancer Support mid way through this year and had hoped to be supporting the runners for the London Marathon this October; Clare had planned to hold her annual Macmillan Coffee morning which was so well supported last year. But owing to events changing or being made more difficult due to the pandemic, we have quite last minute decided to run/walk/crawl this years 'Virtual' London Marathon on Sunday 4th October for Macmillan Cancer Support. We will embark on the gruelling 26.2 miles on our own route starting in Wandsworth, South West London where Niki lives and make our way along the streets and parks of Central London and finish back in Wandsworth. 

We have some concerns. We have done no marathon training at all and it is in less than 4 weeks’ time - any training we can attempt to do while looking after our small children and working, will be minimal! There will also be no crowd to cheer us on and keep us going, but our husbands and children hope to meet us at chosen milestones around the course. We will also of course have each other, and the strong presence and memory of our amazing Mum at the forefront of our minds.

Our motivations are not about achieving a good time as that's impossible. This is about raising money for a charity that supports cancer sufferers and their families. This year more than ever cancer patients and Macmillan need any support they can get as they've been hugely hit by the pandemic. For us, without Andrea’s support, things would have been immeasurably more difficult and troubling.

If you would like to and can support us, please donate what you can. We are acutely aware that it has been a challenging year for a lot of people so we are not expecting to raise much and given the timeframe, but anything at all will make such a huge difference.

Sending a huge amount of thanks in advance and please wish us luck!

Niki & Clare 

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Thanks for supporting my fundraising. Macmillan Cancer Support is here to help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can, providing physical, financial and emotional support. So whatever cancer throws your way, we’re right right there with you.Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them 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.