Fundraisers step up for London Marathon

16 March 2018

Three fundraisers are gearing up for one of the most famous races in the world, when they will tackle the 26.2 miles of the London Marathon.

The Lingen Davies Cancer Fund and the Children’s Ward at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), along with the Shaw Trust, will benefit from the efforts of Naomi Atkin, Ceri Crabbe and Nicky Brierley.

Ceri is raising money for the Children’s Ward at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford to thank them for “saving the lives” of two of her nephews, who were both admitted to the ward when they were small babies.

Ceri, 46, from Dawley, Telford, said she wanted to take part in the London Marathon as it was “every runner’s dream”.

She said: “I always said that if I was ever lucky enough to get a place, I would like to raise funds for the Princess Royal Hospital’s Children’s Ward. This is something I hold dear to my heart as two of my young nephews were treated there as babies.

“Ashley, now 19, was only two weeks old when he started suffering from Pyloric Stenosis, an uncommon condition in infants that blocks food from entering the small intestine. For the next two weeks, Ashley basically starved and lost 3-4lb in weight. At four weeks old, the hospital operated on him to open the valve to the small intestine. Without this surgery, Ashley would have died.

“Ty, Ashley’s little brother, was only seven months old when he received treatment at PRH. At teatime on Christmas Day 2009, Ty was admitted with what we thought was just a common cold but he was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis. The infection causes the smallest airways in the lungs to become infected and inflamed. Ty remained in hospital until New Year’s Eve. He was left with a damaged lung and suffers from asthma. He has a lower immune system than other people and is forced to take steroids on a regular basis to help combat this.”

Ceri, who used to run cross country at school, began running again about 15 years ago and is a member of Wrekin Road Runners. She has set up an online fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/childrenswardprh

Ceri, who has set herself a £500 target, added: “The London Marathon was on my bucket list and it is the only marathon I have ever really been interested in. I watch it every year on the TV and for the last two years I have travelled down to London to watch it live. The atmosphere is phenomenal!

“The things I am looking forward to most on Marathon day are running across Tower Bridge and running past the Palace and down the Mall.

“I plan to celebrate with a bottle of champagne in the evening, as I have been T Total since New Year’s Day.”

Also taking part in the Marathon is Naomi Atkin, Executive Officer of the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, who is running to “put her money where her mouth is”. She is hoping to raise £1,500 for the charity which raises funds for the treatment of people in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and mid Wales living with cancer.

Naomi said: “As Executive Officer of the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, I decided I should put my money where my mouth is and do some fundraising myself.

“I do a bit of running and have done 10kms and half marathons, as well as one marathon, but I’ve always wanted to do London, so it seemed only right to do it in aid of the charity.”

Naomi, 34, from Shrewsbury, has been supplementing her fundraising efforts by holding cake sales at the Lingen Davies Centre based at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. She has also set up an online fundraising page. To sponsor Naomi, visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NaomiAtkin

Also joining the 40,000 other runners on the start line on 22 April will be SaTH nurse Nicky Brierley. Nicky, from Telford, is planning to run the London Marathon, followed by the Edinburgh Marathon in May, to mark turning 50.

Nicky, a Sister on the Coronary Care Unit at PRH, is raising money for the Shaw Trust, which works to transform the lives of people often excluded by society. The Trust has been instrumental in helping Nicky’s brother-in-law, who has learning difficulties.

She said: “This year I turn 50 and decided that, instead of having a party or exotic holiday, I would celebrate by running two marathons, one either side of my birthday. I am starting with London on 22 April, I celebrate my Birthday on 14 May, then I’m off to Scotland to run Edinburgh on 27 May.”

The two races will represent Nicky’s seventh and eighth marathons. The Lawley Running Club member’s first ever marathon was London in 2011. She has also taken part in the race in 2014 and 2015, as well as running marathons in Rome, Liverpool and Brighton.

As part of her training, she is running the Ironbridge Half Marathon on 25 March as a part Rachel’s Angels, a group of SaTH nurses running for Pancreatic Cancer UK. She will also be running Wrexham and Stafford half marathons. In between the two marathons, Nicky will also be running the Market Drayton 10K and the double Liverpool Rock n Roll 5k and Half Marathon.

You can sponsor Nicky by visiting
https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/nicolabrierley1