Our Palliative Care CNS, Lidia, is taking on the challenge of this year’s 26.2 mile TCS London Marathon. She will be one of the 58,000 people lining up on the start line of the iconic long-distance race on 21 April.

When Lidia isn’t out visiting patients in their homes across central and south west London, she has been getting up at 5am to fit in training runs, in preparation for the big day.

Lidia describes the chance to run the marathon as something of a ‘lifetime dream’, an event she had always watched on TV and will now be part of after training up to five times a week across the winter.

A keen runner prior to starting a family, Lidia recently reignited her passion for long distance running at the same time as she joined Royal Trinity Hospice’s community nursing team.

She has been preparing for this year’s marathon around shifts, juggling home life as mum to daughters Maya and Emilia and fundraising. Lidia hopes to raise £2,500 in support of Trinity, an amount that could fund the equivalent of two weeks’ worth of community nursing, just one of the many free end of life services Trinity provides to thousands of Londoners a year.

Lidia in the vest she always wanted to wear

Whilst the challenge of completing the marathon in good time can be high in many runners' minds, Lidia’s motivation for taking part goes back to her long-standing respect for Trinity’s work which made a strong impression on her early on in her nursing career. 

“I started working at Royal Trinity Hospice 9 months ago, coming from the Royal Marsden Hospital. This really is my dream job – working in palliative care as a Clinical Nurse Specialist.  Many years ago, when I was a student, I spent a few weeks in an inpatient unit as part of my placement and I thought it was such a great place to work. Now it’s a full circle moment: I’m here doing this job – my dream came true, literally. I feel privileged to work with such amazing people and be part of this hospice’s team. When I started thinking about running the London Marathon, I thought it would be a great opportunity to run for an organisation I truly believe in - to run for Royal Trinity Hospice is a huge privilege.”

Lidia’s friends and family will join the thousands of sideline supporters who turn out on the day to cheer their loved ones on. Last year a whooping £45,000 was raised for Trinity by people running the TCS London Marathon.

Meanwhile, Dr Jules Mogford who also supports patients at home in the community is in training for her own half marathon for later in 2024. Dr Mogford is raising money for Trinity’s newly launched Forest School. The outdoor play scheme is aimed at creating positive memories at sad times, for children who have a close family member linked to Trinity’s care or who may have already experienced bereavement.

We have a number of sporting challenge events taking place across 2024 in locations spanning the capital to the coast. Only a quarter of funding needed to run the hospice comes from the NHS with an additional £12m needed annually to offer the free care and support 365 days a year Trinity is relied upon by people with a terminal or life-limiting illness. 

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