10 January 2020
Sisters run ABP Southampton Marathon in memory of their mum
Chloe Deverill and her sister Eloise Quinn alongside their husbands Matthew and Daniel hope to raise awareness and money for Southampton Hospital Charity (SHC) in memory of their mum, Julie Lavington who died from a spontaneous sub-arachnoid haemorrhage (a bleed on the brain).
Here, Chloe tells us her story.
“Mum passed away on 4th February 2019 after collapsing at St John’s School in Southampton. She was rushed to University Hospital Southampton but there was nothing that could be done and she died that evening.
During her brief time in hospital she was in the neurological ward, and we received the best possible care and support from the ambulance, neurological and accident and emergency teams, through what was the worst day of our lives.
That’s why we’ve chosen to fundraise for SHC who help to enhance the care and treatment of patients, and support areas of the hospital service that lie beyond the scope of NHS funding.
Mum was a runner and was part of the Lordshill runners group, and my family and I wanted to do something in her memory that would make her proud. She ran over 100 park runs and completed several races including the Southampton half marathon in 2018. Sadly, she had planned to run it again this year.
Training has been going slowly as we are not all natural runners and everything is still so fresh in our minds. There are days we don’t feel like running, but have been trying to push through. We’ve found comfort in doing something that Mum really loved.
We are also all running the Chichester 10km on the 2nd February in preparation. Mum ran this race the day before she died this year so this means a lot to us, so we are running it in her memory. For all of us it is our first half marathon and it is going to be so tough, but is something we all really want, and need to do.”
Join us at the ABP Southampton races
If this has inspired you to run for your local hospital, then look no further. The ABP Southampton races has something for everyone, with a choice of four distances – marathon, half marathon, 10k, and one mile kids fun run.
Last updated: 10/01/2020