Sheffield mum, Julie Bembridge, ran a staggering continuous 100-mile ultra-marathon on Friday 23rd / Saturday 24th July, in a bid to raise money for the refurbishment of Ward 6 at the Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Ward 6 cares for children and teenagers with cancer and blood disorders, and is where Julie’s son, Stan, has been receiving treatment for the past 3 years following his leukaemia diagnosis.
Stan, a pupil at Dronfield Henry Fanshaw School (Dronfield), was 12 years old when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukeamia in December 2017, 4 days before Christmas. As the shock of the diagnosis sank in, Julie – a keen runner – vowed to undertake a challenge of her own and pledged to tackle a continuous 100-mile ultra-marathon once his treatment came to an end.
Julies incredible running challenge began on Friday 23rd July 2021, and she completed the ultramarathon, in just 25 hours and 15 minutes. She was welcomed back to the Sheffield Children’s Hospital by a crowd of supporters singing ‘Happy Birthday’ (it was also Julie’s 51st birthday on Saturday!) and of course, by her very proud son, Stan.
The 100-mile route began and ended at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, heading out to Dronfield, onto the circular Chesterfield round route which crosses through town, before heading back to Dronfield and joining the Sheffield Way and making her way back up to the hospital via Woodseats.
Julie was joined by a team of support runners, including her husband Richard, former Sheffield United defender, Jake Wright, and fellow runners and friends from various running clubs, including the Dronfield running club.
In March 2021, Stan’s gruelling treatment ended, just a few weeks before his 16th birthday. True to her promise, Julie has been in intense training since November 2020.
She started to increase her running in 2020, before focusing on the 100 miles since November 2020. In January 2021 she increased her running, averaging an incredible 10 hours of running a week, and covering 1,413 miles. In her most successful week, she reached 90 miles. In the last 3 weeks, she eased off to rest her legs ahead of the challenge.
Sheffield Children’s Hospital is one of only three dedicated children’s hospitals in the UK. It’s a centre of excellence and treats children from across the UK. As a result of the Covid-pandemic, The Children’s Hospital Charity has suffered a significant drop of around 35% in donations, that ordinarily would have gone towards the £2.75 million costs required for the refurbishment of Ward 6.
Julie hopes that by embarking on this incredible running challenge, people will be inspired to make a donation and help raise the vital funds needed for the refurbishment costs. Sadly, children sometimes spend many months on the ward whilst they undergo their treatment.
“In addition to raising vital funds for the hospital, I’m running to honour of all the children treated on the ward and to thank the staff for their care for Stan” explains Julie. “I’m also running for Stan, who has shown remarkable courage and strength throughout his diagnosis and treatment. I am just so proud of him!”
So far, Julie has raised an incredible £21,332 for The Children’s Hospital Charity.
If you would like to donate you can do so on Julie’s JustGiving page – “100 Miles for Stan” -https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/100milesforstan You can also follow her on her Twitter (@100milesforStan) and Facebook (100 Miles for Stan).
