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“One of the best experiences of my life"

Spring is an exciting time of year for TCF, alongside thousands of other charities. A handful of our supporters don their sporty sunglasses, running shoes and a whole lot of courage, to take on marathons in aid of grieving families all over the UK.

This year we got the opportunity to cheer on some of our runners in person - first was the London Landmarks Half Marathon. We had six incredible supporters in this race: Brooke was running in memory of her boyfriend, Jack; Eloise ran in memory of her friend, Tom; Tracey; and Sally, Gill and Teresa, who fundraised in memory of Sarah, Sally’s daughter, although Gill unfortunately could not take part on the day.

The sun was sparkling off the Thames and the crowds quickly grew as hundreds of runners started to pass through the first few miles. If you have ever run or cheered at a marathon, you’ll know how infectious and exuberant the atmosphere is. For those of us who are there to remember someone special, it can be all the more emotional.

There was music, dancing, clapping, cheering, tambourines, whistles, and even some party poppers – and soon enough, our first runners came past our cheer station at mile 11. Sally and Teresa breezed past us (making a half marathon look incredibly easy), waving as we shook our tambourines. Here’s what Sally told us after the race was over:

“It was quite an experience with amazing crowds and glorious weather making London look all the more fantastic. It really gave me a boost seeing you, Paul and Tom [Sally’s family] cheering me on. I am so very grateful for the overwhelming support of family and so many friends and am glad to be able to give back to the charity that has helped me so much. I remembered Sarah with every step and all those beloved children of my TCF friends so sadly lost too soon.”

Eloise, who had never run at all before signing up to take on the London Landmarks Half Marathon, described it as a “privilege to take part for everyone at TCF and run in Tom’s memory for his family. I really had a great time, not bad for someone who had never run 5k at the start of the year!  You meet lots of people along the way and lots ask about what TCF does, so beyond the sponsorships it’s great to see firsthand how these events can also raise the profile of charities.”

A few weeks after London Landmarks, we had London Marathon to look forward to. It was another hot, sunny day as we pitched up beside the race route, ready to try to spot bereaved brother Jack on miles 14 and 22. Jack was grinning as he ran through both checkpoints and stopped to hug his mum who had joined us to cheer him on in memory of his brother, Joe.

After he crossed the finish line, Jack shared these words:

“It was one of the best experiences of my life, absolutely brutal from 20 miles in, but the support was out of this world. The whole fundraising and training journey over the last 4 months have been amazing. I’ve had loads of support from friends and family but the family at TCF were the loudest and I’ve had so many messages from all of them. It’s amazing to have raised so much for such an amazing charity!”

Our cheer team felt privileged to support Jack, Brooke, Eloise, Sally, Teresa and Tracey and represent TCF at two of London’s most popular fundraising events. It is truly incredible to see tens of thousands of people challenging themselves in aid of charitable causes – in our case, to ensure that TCF can continue supporting bereaved parents and families in the wake of devastating loss.

Events like these don’t just raise money and awareness for TCF. They offer a special moment of connection for our supporters and their beloved child, friend, sibling, partner, or anyone else they are remembering: Eloise had her friend’s name on her t-shirt; Brooke carried some of her boyfriend’s ashes in a small angel; Sally wrote the names of all her TCF friends’ children on her t-shirt; and Jack had his brother’s name printed on his t-shirt and written on his hands. Each event presents a mixture of emotions for our bereaved runners and we are so proud and grateful to them for taking part. Well done to all of you.

If you’re ever interested in taking part in a challenge event in aid of TCF, or in joining us to cheer on our runners in future races, please do get in touch with us at fundraising@tcf.org.uk.