5 months of training, 5 hours of running and one full day of lying in bed to recover! Well worth it all in memory of Tom Hardman.

I am proud to say that on the 28th April, after 5 hours of running around the streets and roads of Greater Manchester proudly sporting a CRY t-shirt, I finally completed the 2013 Manchester Marathon and raised a grand total of £656.00 in memory of my friend, Tom.

I unfortunately had to hobble over the finish line because of an ankle injury that occurred 10 miles in, but I wanted to make Tom and all my sponsors proud and I hope that I succeeded!

I would like to thank everyone who supported my training for the months before the marathon; everyone who sponsored me; those who came to support me on the day – in particular my boyfriend for making sure I crossed that finish line with my dodgy ankle! – and Tom’s parents for being there to greet me at the finish line with flowers and a much needed Lucozade!

Thank you so much for your support, I couldn’t have done it without it!

I hope that my efforts have raised awareness for CRY and can stop what happened to Tom happening to someone else.

Hannah Partington