I’m running the Dingle marathon on the 5th September in memory of my Grandpa, Dave Russell, and in aid of St George’s Hospital Charity.

For all those who know me well , I hate running! This is a big challenge for me and one that I have unfortunately had to put off telling everyone till recently due to little injuries ( notably a cracked rib). But the push is on and I can finally and safely say, it’s happening!

Any donations to this great cause would be much appreciated and if you have the time then I have put some more info below as to why I have chosen to do this race and to raise money for St George’s Hospital Charity.

We unfortunately lost my Grandpa last June after a brave and tough battle with his health.

Thanks to the amazing team at the Caesar Hawkins ward at St George’s hospital, both me and Becca were able to share one last goodbye to Grandpa with the rest of the family.

We booked tickets back from Vietnam that evening when we got the news that Grandpa was entering the last days to hours of his amazing life. We landed in Heathrow the next morning and were with my Grandpa within hours with the rest of the family. Seeing how happy it made him to have us all there together is something that our family will never forget.

Along with his own strong will, this moment being possible was all thanks to the great team at St George’s hospital. In the days leading up to his passing, the nurses and doctors did all they could to help my Grandpa before keeping him as comfortable as possible all whilst supporting my family through the difficult time.

One example to show just how caring the team were was in the moments just after my Grandpa passed and two of the porters who had never met me or my family grabbed me and gave me a hug when they were saw me upset and passed their words of condolences before getting us all a drink. It might have seemed little to them at the time, but it was as something thoughtful that meant alot to the family and really showed the good nature of the whole team.

After all the help that this particular team gave my family I felt it was only right to donate any money raised in memory of Grandpa to this charity so that they can continue to help families of other people who are husbands, fathers and grandfathers like my Grandpa.

If my Grandpa can go through all that he did, then I can get through this marathon!

Thank you very much in advance for any contribution you can make.

More information about St George's Hospital Charity can be found here - https://www.stgeorgeshospitalcharity.org.uk