Paris half marathon run in memory of dad who was cared for at ellenor

Along with girlfriend Amber Alexander, they competed in the March 9th event with mum Debbie and sister Megan going along to cheer them on.

Callum’s dad Alan came into the hospice in 2010, for pain relief after being diagnosed with an extremely rare abdomen cancer. Post-surgery, he was in a lot of pain and decided to come to ellenor – and said at the time that he was pleased that he did. Knowing he might only have a few months left to live, he decided to dedicate his final months to fundraising, setting a target of £15,000. With his pain under control, a new lease of life took hold and Alan became a super fundraiser, raising £25,000 for ellenor from his bed in just 10 weeks. His job working for a patent law firm, enabled Alan to ask many people in his profession – and they were more than willing to help.

Alan died on March 16th 2011, aged 43 – Callum was just 10 and sister Megan was 12. The family, who lived in Dartford then, went on to raise a further £2,500 from a disco held a year after Alan died.

The half marathon took place 15 years to the day that Alan came to ellenor.

Callum, now 24 and an engineer at Amazon at Tilbury and Amber, also 24, a scientific recruitment consultant, undertook some training – but have never taken anything like this on before. Callum said: “I was young when my dad died but I remember being at ellenor, playing, running around in the garden and meeting other children. “At that time, I said it wasn’t a sad place – me and my sister liked being there with dad – it wasn’t an unhappy or dark place, it was light and happy. “I just wanted to do something for ellenor now I’m older and so we decided on the Paris half marathon. “We’ve never done anything like this before but we had the family there cheering for us and we pushed each other on!”

The pair crossed the finish line in 2hrs, 45 mins. Amber said: “I didn’t meet Alan but they talk all about him so much which is lovely, so I feel like I do. I wanted to support Callum and his family to support ellenor.” Mum Debbie said: “I’m so proud and couldn’t wait to go. We went as a family to cheer them on but also to make some memories on a nice trip.” The family enjoyed a trip to Disneyland before coming home.

They have passed their £1000 fundraising target – but donations can still be made. https://www.justgiving.com/page/amberley-alexander-1725887909774?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Alan was filmed at ellenor by BBC South East – watch again here: https://youtu.be/7njAr96VzQA?si=USjlRzU35wO9dimq