TWO sisters from Melksham recently ran the Bath Half Marathon, raising £1,388 for Dorothy House in memory of their grandmother who died last year.
Leanne and Kelly Hatt are hoping to raise £1,500 for the hospice service following the care they provided.
Leanne said, “My nan died in October after being diagnosed with cancer only a few weeks before. She came home to be cared for by the family with the help of Dorothy House. The help they provided at this time is hard to describe in words, however, it gave us the strength to deal with an incredibly hard time.
“I knew little of Dorothy House before my nan’s illness and getting to know the carers and their jobs inspired us to run the half marathon and raise money so they can continue their work.
“We originally aimed to raise £1,000 as this is the amount a ‘driver’ costs. A driver is a simple yet amazing piece of equipment which regulates pain killers automatically. Prior to having this, my nan would experience hours of unnecessary agonising pain while she waited for the next lot of medication to arrive. I was shocked to learn there are only a limited number of drivers due to funding, and my nan was lucky to have had access to one.
“The race was amazing! I’d never ran a half marathon before and so I’d planned to finish in under three hours and hoped to finish around the 2:30 mark. In the end I managed to run the whole way without walking and ran it in 2:24, with Kelly not far behind.
“The day was a blur to be honest, if it wasn’t for my aching muscles I never would have believed it happened. Everything was great including the weather.
“I know my nan would have been proud but I bet she would have thought us crazy for putting ourselves through it. Nan was definitely with us that day. The race was tough but when I felt like walking I just remembered why I was running and how much it meant to everyone. I wanted to make my family proud.
“Spectators the whole way round were shouting our names and shouting ‘go team dotty!’ I had a lump in my throat every time. It was the most amazing experience and I would definitely do it again.”
To sponsor the sisters visit www.justgiving.com/Leanne-Hatt?utm_id=37
