Today is January 1st 2026, and although I have started my training, I have been putting off setting this page up. Mainly because I am still coming to terms as to what has seemingly just happened and the giant hole left in our family as a result. I’m running the London Marathon in memory of my darling Mum, Louise (Lou) Goodrum, and to raise money for the wonderful hospice that took care of her.

Last year, seemingly out of nowhere, Mum was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The disease progressed quickly but throughout, Mum showed incredible strength and bravery. The NHS cared for her well at first, but rapidly changing circumstances meant that Mum needed more specialised care – something the NHS could not provide. Thankfully, a place at Weston Hospice became available.

Immediately you could see the impact the specialist care and dedication of Weston Hospice’s staff and services had on Mum and us as a wider family. We cannot thank them enough for the dignity, support and care they gave Mum and us as a family – something they provide to all coming through their doors and have done throughout the years. They really were incredible.

During this time, Mum encouraged me to keep up my training for the Brighton Marathon – and my completing it an achievement I know she would have been proud of. However, in honour of mum I’d like to go one better a run the London Marathon, reach or surpass my target time of 3h30 and, in the process, raise vital funds for this incredible charity. Inexplicably, hospices are not part of the NHS, nor do they receive sufficient funding to cover the cost of the care they provide from the taxpayer. Therefore, every year, they rely on donations to enable them to do what they do best – provide support to individuals and their families at the time when they need it most.

Across 14 years, my school friendship group have regularly tried to raise money for Weston Hospice having seen the impact their services have locally. However, this time my fundraising endeavour is particularly personal and supporting the hospice is something I intend to carry on doing into the future.

So if you can, please do donate to this page. Beyond this event, if you get an opportunity to here and there, please donate, it is worth it.

Thank you for reading & hopefully donating too,

Ben & Family

From Weston Hospicecare;

Receiving an end-of-life diagnosis can be difficult, not just for the patient but also for their loved ones. At Weston Hospicecare, our team of palliative care experts is dedicated to working together to provide specialist support. Our social, emotional, psychological, spiritual and physical care helps guide people through one of the most difficult experiences they will ever face. With only 20% of our funding coming from the NHS, we have to raise £5.5 million each year to fund our care - something that's only made possible by our community.