Sharon Young raised a fantastic £1157.00 for Think Ahead in memory of her Dad, Stanley Lloyd, after seeing first - hand the damage and distress a stroke can cause.

My wonderful Dad, Stanley Lloyd (Stan) passed away from cancer in October 2021, just before he died he had a stroke that took away most of his speech and mobility.  He had always supported the Think Ahead Stroke Club as my Stepmum, Sandra had had a stroke and they used to attend on a regular basis.

My Dad would take part in the annual Dragon Boat Race fundraiser, when he was well into his seventies and would help raise money for the Charity whenever he could.  All donations after his funeral were made to Think Ahead Stroke.  Around the time Dad became ill, I had started running in a bid to become healthier and fitter.  I started the Couch to 5k programme in August 2021 and my Dad was very proud of me for this.

After running several 10k races in 2022, I was now in training to run a half marathon that took place in London on 2nd April 2023 in memory of my Dad.  I was a bit nervous about the challenge but also very grateful that I would be running with my husband, David who had also taken on the roles of motivator and coach!

The day of the marathon:

"We had such a great time in London, from start to finish the event was very well supported.  It was the first time I have ran an official half marathon.  I've only been running since August 2021.  I started because my husband David, was always out running and entering events and I wanted to be healthier and fitter, so if you can't beat 'em, join em!

To date I've entered several 10K events but this was more than twice as far - 21.1km (13.1 miles), so I was quite nervous.  I wanted to run in my Dad's memory and I had a running top made with his photo on the back, I know he would've been there cheering me on.

    

The nerves soon disappeared though and most of the route was lined with people cheering us on and shouting our names.  There were a few different choirs singing at different points, steel pans, brass bands and DJ's to entertain and keep us motivated. There were wheelchair participants, people in fancy dress and in total 17249 participants crossed the finish line.  My official chip time was 2 hours 30 minutes 45 seconds - I was very happy with that!

As I ran to the finish line, I was thinking - I did it! After all the training, I actually completed it! My follow up thought was - I can stop running now and rest my aching feet!  At the finish line we were handed our medals, there were Pearly Kings and Queens and the Chelsea Pensioners too.

It was such an amazing experience and I am so happy to have raised £1157.00 for Think Ahead Stroke.  My Dad would've been thrilled too! I'm still on a high as I'm writing this and happy to say my muscles aren't sore today either!"

Thank you very much to everyone who donated!

Sharon x

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