This July marks ten years since I lost my mum, Annmarie Brown. This was one of the most difficult period of my life, navigating a world without my primary parent. Mum was someone who had an unwavering belief in looking after others—especially children—and her influence still guides so many of my choices today. Ive always wanted to do a charity event in her honour, raising money for something she was passionate about, and over these past few months, we have received fantastic support from the kinship charity.

Over the past six months, Daniel and I have gone through an unexpected, significant change - becoming kinship carers for four children — moving from a family of three to seven overnight!

A kinship carer is someone who takes on the care of a child they already know, such as a family member or close friend, when that child’s parents are unable to care for them. While hugely rewarding, it has involved complex legal, emotional, and practical challenges. - The transition has required navigating social services assessments, family dynamics, court processes, and significant adjustments, including Daniel stepping away from work to become a full‑time carer.

So, what better way is there to honour my mum’s charitable spirit and recognise the support we’ve received by Kinship, than to run 150km throughout the month of July to raise money for this fantastic charity!

This is a huge personal challenge, especially as the most I ran in April was 72km! I’ll be sharing updates along the way on social media, and my training and July miles can be followed on Strava:

https://strava.app.link/9vFeTERQM2b

Any donation, no matter how small, would mean the world 💛

We are Kinship. The leading kinship care charity in England and Wales.

We’re here for kinship carers – friends or family who step up to raise a child when their parents aren’t able to.

There are over 141,000 children in kinship care across England and Wales.

Let’s commit to change for kinship families.