Caroline's fundraising for St Gemma's

Caroline, who supports and trains clinical teams at St Gemma’s, will also be running the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon. 

St Gemma's, a partner charity for the marathon, based in Leeds is a world leader in palliative care research and the world's first University Teaching Hospice.

A partnership between St Gemma's Hospice and the University of Leeds, they work to improve the care of those approaching the end of life through integrated research, teaching, and clinical practice.

Caroline works in the Academic Unit of Palliative Care, supporting and training the clinical teams at work. Here’s her story behind running:

Why have you decided to run the Rob Burow Leeds Marathon? 

“I think it’s really important to make it clear that although I enjoy keeping fit, I am not a natural runner! I started running when my two children were little. It was a good way to keep fit, and have a short time to myself, and didn’t require much time or expensive equipment! Although I’ve had time away from running where I’ve done different things such as circuit training, Zumba, aerobics, spinning classes, etc. I’ve always come back to running. I think it’s because the solitude gives me time to think and because I also love being in nature. I have challenged myself to do charity runs in the past such as races for life and half marathons. All of these have been hard but have left me with incredible memories and a real feeling that I’ve played a small part in promoting a particular charity.”

Have you run a marathon before? 

“I’ve always looked at friends who’ve completed marathons with absolute admiration but never thought I would ever be able to do it myself. I suppose part of that is because I’m not sure I’m physically capable and also because I know, from listening to others who have completed marathons, it takes up a lot of time in training. Although my children are grown up and theoretically, I should have more free time, that doesn’t seem to have quite happened.”

Why are you choosing to raise money for St Gemma's Hospice? 

“I am so proud to work at St Gemma’s. Every working day, I see examples of the exceptional lengths that staff go to to provide high standards of palliative care. I see that in every department and it is really humbling. It’s important to me to do whatever I can to raise money for St Gemma’s and committing to the Leeds Marathon has made it a personal challenge too.”

What do you think will be the hardest challenge?

“The training and actually running for 26 miles! Currently, I’m able to run 10 miles fairly comfortably but to think of doing that twice over plus another 6 miles seems incredibly daunting! People have told me that the event itself will carry me and that your mental attitude is really important. I only hope that is true. I’m going to need a lot of encouragement and positivity around me!”

The Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon, in partnership with Clarion is taking place on Sunday 12^th May, the same day as the Leeds Half Marathon. Entries are still open, head to our Events page to find out more and sign up.