Pharmacy business manager to take on a 24-hour running challenge in mum's memory
A Pharmacy Manager from Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) is taking on a 24-hour running challenge in memory of his mum on what would have been her birthday.
Adam Jones, Pharmacy Operational Business Manager, will take on Run Sandringham on 9 August to raise money for Lymphoedema Support Network (LSN) - a national charity which offers guidance and support to people with the chronic condition that causes swelling in the body’s tissues.
Adam, who has a 20-year career in the NHS, is aiming to run 10 laps of Sandringham's five-mile course in 24 hours for his mum, Lesley, who sadly died last year.
He said: “I am running this to help raise money for the Lymphoedema Support Network. If they can help someone going through what my Mum went through and alleviate their pain, then all the power to them.
“When my mum developed Lymphodoema, it was hard for her to adjust to a different way of life as restricted mobility and pain became a way of life that she had never envisioned. The charity provided us with great support.
“I am incredibly nervous of taking part in such a long race and distance but I know my mum will be proud as punch watching me complete it.
“My mum also spent most of her working life in the NHS across a couple of Trusts, which is where she met my dad, and was known for her vibrant personality and wicked sense of humour.
“My colleagues, friends and family have been a great source of support and have been incredibly generous with donations already as well as words of encouragement and support.”
Adam first got into running with Couch to 5k during Covid as a means of keeping active but has since slowly upped the efforts, distance and exertion to do 10k events, half marathons and at the end of last year, his first ever full marathon having completed the Chelmsford Marathon.
He added: “I have been preparing for this August Event with a training plan while trying to fit in more half marathons as a means to keep the pressure on myself. My next Half-Marathon event is April 13 in a cross country style event from Colchester to Brightlingsea.
“As my 40th Birthday looms, I find keeping active a great remedy for both my physical and mental wellbeing and while I am not the quickest, I am a determined and goal orientated individual. Being able to run for something in memory of my mum makes me all the more determined.”
If you would like to donate, please visit Adam's JustGiving page.