My cousin Jamie Bucknell passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 14 in 2001. When I was younger myself and my family used to host musical fundraising evenings to raise money in his memory towards local screenings. I myself was screened at the age of 13 and as a result of that was looked after by Cardiologists for over ten years. A colleague from work then lost his brother in law in similar circumstances, Andrew Key was 31.
My new found love of running sparked an idea that I was going to run a half marathon. I’d never run further than 10k but how hard could it be! I was lucky enough to gain a place in the Great North Run 2024, then came the training. I followed my running plan to the letter and completed the course on Sunday 13th September. It rained constantly all day and was the wettest run of my life but I crossed that line knowing I had worked hard in memory of Jamie and Andrew. I raised a wonderful £1,250 from very generous friends, family and colleagues.
The money I raised was in memory of my cousin Jamie but goes to Andrew’s fund as this fund directly influences the screenings taking place in my local area. They host screenings at the school I teach in and being able to directly speak to young people about the benefits of accessing screenings is very important to me.
However, I knew I wasn’t done with my challenge. After completing the half-marathon, I decided to sign up for the Paris marathon 2025. I knew I could do half of it so another 13.1 miles wasn’t going to be a problem. winter training was very different to the summer. Dark, cold and rainy runs only made bearable by the idea that this money I raised would go to young people. It’s crazy when you’re a busy mum of two boys and a teacher who starts running 30k on a weekend just for “training” but with the support of my partner, run club, family and friends I did it!
The week before my run my little boys held a cake sale at their school and raised a brilliant £220, this was the perfect way for them to feel included. Then we were off. I headed to Paris a bag of nerves, but on the 13th April I completed the Paris marathon. My parents, children and partner supported me all the way round the course. I ran 26.2 miles and raised a fantastic £2,202. A friend said to me on the start line have your reason clear. Jamie and Andrew were my reason. Not wanting other families to go through the pain and loss when it could be avoided was always my reason.
I raised a total of £3,452 in 7 months and can’t wait to decide what my next challenge will be.
