5 September 2024

I am taking part in the Great South Run as it is my favourite run of the year. I have done it multiple times over the years since I was 24. I think the atmosphere and route are fantastic and makes me really proud to live here in the South.

I often use running to clear my head and I don't tend to listen to music, preferring to sort out my thoughts and make sense of the world. This was never more important than after the COVID pandemic. 

My Dad died in March 2020 on the first day of lockdown on the 23rd of March.   

I had cared for him for a few years due to physical illness and frailty. He suffered with COPD and kidney disease and had been in and out of hospital copious times before his death. Around 14 admissions to hospital in his final year.

He jokingly used to call QA his favourite hotel although towards the end of his life he was less enthusiastic as he wanted to be at home.

Over the years we frequented the respiratory department and the renal wards and despite the stressful and difficult times which ultimately ended in heartbreak, there were many moments of good care, unexpected laughter and crazy jokes that still make me smile.

My Dad was Welsh and very proud of this as were we. He told me one morning when I went to visit that he has a couple of nurses on the ward who spoke Welsh and so he had spent a night shift speaking in his own language and receiving great care. It meant the world to him.

Portsmouth Hospital Charity was the logical choice following his death as a place to choose for donations at his memorial. I have also raised money again for them through a cycle challenge a year after my dad died. It remains a place close to my heart.

My Dad loved a challenge and was always the person I would first phone after any running event as he would always ask the right questions. He was always my number one fan and I miss him dreadfully. I think positively of my dad when I run, and it really is very cathartic. 

I will definitely be thinking of him this year when I run the Great South Run, and I hope to raise more money for Portsmouth Hospitals Charity in his memory.

He would undoubtedly be proud of me, but not as proud of I am of him and his memory.