Sheffield mum, Julie Bembridge, is in training to run 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.
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 expects to reach up to 15 hours of running each week at the height of her training in preparation for her 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.
Freya Kingswood, Senior Events Fundraising Assistant at The Children’s Hospital Charity explains: “The COVID-19 pandemic has seen major events supporting the Cancer and Leukaemia ward appeal cancelled or postponed, while traditional ways of showing support including charity balls, bake sales and raffles are no longer possible in times of social distancing.
“Put simply, the less we raise together, the longer patients at Sheffield Children’s Hospital will have to wait for the upgraded environment they deserve. We hope to fully fund the new ward this year, but that will only be possible with help from supporters like Julie.”
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!”
Julie’s incredible challenge will begin on Friday 23rd July 2021, and she hopes to complete the run on Saturday 24th July 2021 – which coincides with her 51st birthday! Her route will begin and end at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The route is mainly off road and will begin at the hospital. Heading out to Dronfield and after running some miles around Dronfield she will get onto the circular Chesterfield Round route which crosses through our town. Once back at Dronfield she will then get onto the circular Sheffield Way which also crosses through our town. The final miles after finishing the Sheffield Way will be to head back to the hospital via Woodseats.
A live tracking device will be worn to follow Julie's progress and the full route details and tracking info will be available on her social media sites, nearer the time.
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 training on her Twitter (@100milesforStan) and Facebook (100 Miles for Stan).
