“Never having ran since school (20 odd years ago), I decided to run a half marathon in May 2013 having signed up January 2013. To motivate me I signed up to get sponsorship for St. Gemma’s hospice. With the fantastic support of my family and friends I managed to run the half marathon in 2 hours 26 minutes and raised nearly £1000 but the reason for running was because my dad passed away from a brain tumor a few years ago plus my mother in law was stood by the side of the road cheering me on when I was running this half marathon, but on 31 Dec 2013 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away in March 2014. This medal means challenges, family, friends and going for what you want as you never know what is around the corner.”

Sam Dakin