Marathon man down under raises £900 for Doncaster’s hospice

A former Doncaster man has put his best foot forward and run a marathon down under to raise funds in memory of his dad.

Michael Allen (55), of Perth, Australia, who used to live in Tickhill, decided to do his first full marathon to raise money for St John’s Hospice in Doncaster to say thank you for how staff cared for his dad Eric.

He completed the Sydney marathon, raising a whopping £900.

Michael said: “I trained for eight months before attempting the feat, and I’ve been a regular runner for more than 30 years having completed six half marathons, but this was my first full marathon. It was demanding, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, to have my wife Joanne, son Charlie, daughter-in-law Karla and our gorgeous eight-month-old granddaughter Lottie there to support me was amazing. Even my 92-year-old father-in-law Colin was there. I loved taking part and I raised such a fantastic amount for the hospice.

“I want to say a massive thank you to the hospice team for making the last couple of weeks of my dad’s life so comfortable. Living in Australia has its positives but being away from family is hard. Knowing my dad was being cared for by the hospice staff was so good to know,” said Michael. “I would also like to thank all the amazing people that donated through the fundraising page it means such a lot.

“My dad was a man of few words,” added Michael. “I can imagine him saying to me why would I want to do a marathon. My answer would be that it was a way of saying thank you to him for just being “my dad.”

Jenny Baynham, Charity Fundraiser, said: “What Michael has done to raise money for our hospice is an amazing feat and the amount of money raised is fabulous. I want to say a huge thank you to Michael and his family for their support.”

St John’s Hospice is run by Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Trust (RDaSH). For more information on how to support St John’s Hospice, please visit your hearts and minds charity (opens in new window).

Published: November 13, 2024