Woman plans to run two marathons in memory of her grandad and to raise money for St Catherine's Hospice

Next month, Bethen is running the iconic London Marathon followed by the Brighton Marathon in April 2023.

She’s raising money for St Catherine’s Hospice after they cared for her Grandad, Colin. Here, she shares more about the difference the hospice made to her family.

Bethen said: “When I was little, my Grandma volunteered in the coffee shop at St Catherine’s and we always knew about the hospice.

“I remember watching my Dad run two London marathons for the hospice too when I was 12 and 13.

“In 2013, our family experienced St Catherine’s care when my Grandad spent time there.

“The hospice was calm and welcoming. It was a relief that Grandad was being cared for so well too. Our family was always confident that he was comfortable.

“Grandad went to a care home after the hospice and died a month afterwards. My family kept saying he was holding on waiting for my baby to be born. She was 10 days old when he died, but he got to meet her once.

“All our memories of the hospice are special. Hospice staff treated our family like we were old family friends, and nothing was ever too much trouble.

“As a family, we’ve always supported St Catherine’s and this year, I’m running the London Marathon in October and then the Brighton Marathon in April 2023 to support the hospice.

Having done a marathon twice before, Dad’s given me some training tips and I’m now doing training runs along the same route he did.

“If Grandad knew I was taking on these marathons, he probably would have laughed. He wouldn’t have believed it!”

“St Catherine’s is the complete package and we’ll never forget the efforts the hospice put into my wonderful Grandad’s and our family’s care.

“It’s important we all consider supporting St Catherine’s because none of us know when we might need them.”

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If you’d like to take on a marathon or another challenge to support St Catherine’s Hospice, please get in touch by emailing: [email protected] or calling 01293 447361.