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In April, both the Brighton and London Marathons took place, the latter of which saw a record number of participants. Both runs are known for their incredible atmosphere, bringing the entire community together to support runners who take on this challenge, often in support of charities close to their hearts.

This year, St Wilfrid’s saw 12 runners take on these marathons while raising vital funds for the Hospice, including one individual who took part in both running events. Running a total of 314 miles between them, the 12 Hospice runners together raised an incredible £30,075.

This incredible total could help the Hospice to fund a month of their family services, supporting bereaved loved ones, a year's worth of patient transport allowing patients to visit the Hospice for treatment, rehabilitation and complementary therapies, and over two months of nursing consumables for our Ward, Hospice at Home and Clinical Nurse Specialists teams.

“As a way of saying thank you for all the care and support, I wanted to raise money for St Wilfrid’s so that I could give something back and this was also a promise I made to my dad,” said Beth, one of the London Marathon runners.

India and Supporters after London Marathon.

The care that St Wilfrid’s provides across West Sussex and Hampshire supports more than 325 people at any one time, and is provided completely free-of-charge. It costs the Hospice over £9m a year to provide their expert services, and only a small percentage of this is funded by the NHS. The remaining costs are funded by the generosity of the local community, such as these runners, who want to give back and make a difference for their local hospice.

If you joined the ballot for the next marathon, St Wilfrid’s would love for you to consider choosing them as the Charity to run for and join their team. By running for St Wilfrid’s you will have the opportunity to meet the other runners, receive training advice and support, and enjoy a wonderful Pasta Party the week before the event with your fellow St Wilfrid’s runners. By raising funds for St Wilfrid’s, you will also be helping make a difference to people living with life-limiting illnesses, allowing them and their loved ones to receive expert care and compassion.

“On a personal level, it’s a great achievement, but the fact you’re giving something back as well is an added bonus. Whether I do a marathon again or not, I’m so pleased to have done them and they will stick with me forever,” added Lisa, a previous Brighton and London Marathon runner

Marathon Runners raise more than £30k for local hospice