Mother’s Day half marathon in memory of Jake

Claire ran the Liverpool half marathon in memory of her son Jake

Last August our worlds were turned upside down when our little boy Jake was born at 23 weeks and died shortly after he was born. Through the support offered by the specialist bereavement team we have some precious memories of our short time with Jake and were able to hold a funeral to say our goodbyes. The counselling I have received through the team and the support I have found from Sands has helped me see a way through, although some days this is still hard to do.

To say thank you and raise awareness and funds for Sands and to do something positive in memory of Jake I ran the Liverpool half marathon on Mother’s Day and have raised over my target of £500 with money still coming in. It was hard going as I only started running again in January on post natal advice and the wind on the day did us no favours but I managed to finish in 2 hours 16 minutes and 33 seconds with six weeks training. I could not have done it without my running partner Stevie who got me out on those cold wet evenings or my mum, husband and sister who came to support me on the day cheering me on at numerous points around the course.

Jake will never be forgotten and will always have a place in our hearts. I have found it especially comforting to know that so many of our friends and family were so keen to support me and do something for Jake too.