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My brother and I got signed up for the 10k challenge by my daughter as a Christmas 'gift' that turned very competitive very quickly via a family group WhatsApp. As an ex athlete who cycles more than runs nowadays due to dodgy knees and an inability to hold myself back resulting in more injuries now than when I ran 120mile weeks; I became nervous when asked what my 10k PB thinking I was about to be signed up to race Mo and the other elite boys come May. As much as i'd love to relive the glory days; I was reassured this wouldn't be the case but thought I best get some miles in anyway which in itself then became a competition with my non runner brother when I decided to run 5miles as my first run back. I didn't need it confirmed but my daughter was right when she said thats not the best idea when I then tried to get up to answer the front door and felt my knee twinge so the comeback to the glory days is on hold for now but am looking forward to the challenge of 'racing' my younger brother on the streets of London this Spring amongst thousands of other runners. 

Despite this family challenge there is another reason we have decided to run and its not quite so happy. Unfortunately 6 days before Christmas we received some devastating news that our friend Paul (Ossie) had passed away after a tough battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis (a terminal lung condition) and later throat cancer. I've known Ossie since 1994 when we both started working at the post office and quickly became very close friends within a very tight knit group. Ossie who was motorbike mad had time for everyone and nothing was too much; this was evident throughout his battle with the illnesses when he became a very matter of fact rock for his partner Lydia and his friends after his diagnosis in 2016. Our friendship involved annual pilgrimages on our motorbikes through France to watch Le Mans and some great house parties hosted by Ossie with his bike building workshop in the garage. Only this year a smaller group of us went to watch the Grand Prix despite Ossie's illness being very apparent much to the testimony and strength of Ossie and his partner Lydia.

In 2016 the group was dealt the devastating blow of losing one of the boys Dave to cancer and not long after this Ossie was given his own devastating diagnosis of Pulmonary Fibrosis that after a hospital appointment it was confirmed that he also had an inoperable tumour present in his throat which left everyone struggling with the news but Ossie was very matter of fact about the whole thing throughout his illness until in November 2018 his health took a turn for the worse. As a result Ossie and his partner Lydia decided to make it official and got married in front of friends and family. As a show of love we as Ossie's friends escorted their wedding car with 20+ motorcycles and watched them confirm their love for each other in what was a lovely ceremony and as with most weddings a good chance for everyone to catch up. However, this unfortunately was the last time we saw Ossie as he passed away on 19th December 2018 in the fantastic Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Home after receiving the best care we could have wanted for Ossie when he needed it. This is why; as a thank you we would like to raise money so that others who are in desperate need of this care can continue to receive it just as Ossie did. We would appreciate any little donation you can offer but so you have a clear picture of what this money would support Phyllis Tuckwell with we have provided some examples below. 

£34 - Hourly cost of providing
care through our Day Hospice.
£92 - Hourly cost of providing
care through our Hospice Care at
Home team.
£138 - A Physiotherapist for a
day, improving the quality of life for
patients.
£131 - A Nurse for a day who
cares for up to five patients.
£146 - A Complementary
Therapist for a day, providing
comfort and relief.
£135 - An Occupational Therapist
for a day, helping patients improve
day-to-day life.
£2,208 - Our total Hospice Care
at Home service for a day.
£769 - One full-time Clinical
Nurse Specialist for a week,
working out in the community.
£8,842 - Running our In-Patient
Unit for a day, 24 hours a day.
£9.8m - To provide all our
services for one year!