In April this year, Kate Shopper is running the TCS London Marathon, her first ever marathon, as part of the Rennie Grove Peace London Marathon team. She explains why the cause is close to her heart, and how she came to take on such a huge challenge.
“My father, Howard, had been suffering from kidney failure for several years, and as his health deteriorated, he received ongoing care from the Rennie Grove Hospice at Home team. By 2020 we were all in lockdown, and my family and I were unable to go in and help Mum and Dad. We relied heavily on the Rennie Grove Hospice at Home team to keep them both safe and well.
“After contracting COVID in 2021, Howard was ready to stop his life-sustaining dialysis treatment, and come home.
“Fulfilling his wish became our mission, and was only possible because of the Rennie Grove Hospice at Home service. Dad came home on the day of my parents’ 58th wedding anniversary, giving him and Mum the opportunity to down a last, celebratory glass of prosecco together!”
“Dad was referred to the charity’s Rapid Personalised Care team which meant carers came to the house multiple times each day to look after his personal care. Every carer and nurse who set foot in the house was unbelievable. So patient and caring.
“Dad died a few days later on 14 February 2021.
“As a family, we found incredible comfort in the fact that Dad was at home with Mum, his children, grandchildren and even Mallie the dog, by his side.
“After Dad died, the whole family was so incredibly grateful for the care we had received from Rennie Grove that we started to fundraise for the charity. It shocked me to learn how much money the charity needs to raise through fundraising every single day – just to keep providing the services which mean so much to families like ours.”
Weight loss
“The next part of my journey is one I find hard to share, and that’s my weight loss journey. I’m hoping that by sharing my story, it might help someone else with theirs. I was overweight and unhappy, with type 2 diabetes and clinical depression. My weight affected every single aspect of my life, and I was mentally and physically exhausted. I was 53 and wanted my life back – actually, I just wanted a life.
“So in June 2022, I embarked on the hardest and most rewarding journey of my life: I lost weight. I had bariatric surgery and lost a total of 6 stone in those first 6-8 months. It has been (and still is) a huge struggle, and I continue to fight every single day. For me, losing weight gave me the opportunity to start doing sport again – something I’d not done since school. I decided I just wanted to complete a Parkrun without stopping, which I eventually did. And then I felt I needed another goal.”
The London Marathon
“After Dad died, the whole family was so incredibly grateful for the care we had received from Rennie Grove that we started to fundraise for the charity. It shocked me to learn how much money the charity needs to raise through fundraising every single day – just to keep providing the services which mean so much to families like ours.
“After an initial family fundraising, I knew I wanted to do something big to raise more money. I’d started to lose the weight and run short distances, and was looking for a new challenge, so I applied for a place at The London Marathon with Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care. I knew it would keep me motivated, and this was the only charity I wanted to run for.
“I really started to train for the distance in November 2023. I follow a training plan on a running app that guides me as I increase my strength and fitness, and keeps me accountable. But to be honest, the running is the easy bit! There’s the nutrition and the fuelling – following my bariatric surgery I have to fuel myself really carefully. I can’t eat whatever I want. I can’t just fuel on glucose gels during long runs, as they make me really ill. I’ve spent a lot of time researching alternatives that I can stomach – literally. There’s the kit, and the shoes and the massage guns, and the huge amount of time it takes to train and run long distances every week – and the injuries.
“I’ve been injured a few times during my training and have found that very difficult. As well as the physical injury – and all the physio and recovery that goes into that – there’s the mental battle, too. It feels like the clock is ticking down to race day, so having to take time out of training feels difficult when there’s a deadline looming on the horizon. I often feel like a failure if I can’t run, or worry about whether I’ll need to defer my place to next year. But I’m trying to trust the process and ultimately, I need to listen to my body. So, when I can’t run, I’m cross training in the gym, and moaning about it to anyone that will listen.
“I generally run and train on my own, so the 5am start in the winter is tough. But it’s ‘me time’ and I love it. Once per week I do train with a friend, though, and that’s lovely. We met because we’re both running the London Marathon in aid of Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care. We both live in St Albans, so we do weekly training runs together (injury permitting). That has been a lovely bonus of this whole process – I’ve made a new friend that I know will last way beyond the race itself. The other Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care runners have also been a huge support on our WhatsApp group as well.
“I have a fundraising target of £2,500 and friends, colleagues and family have been really generous in their support. For those who sponsor me, I’m offering to sew bows on to my running kit that display the name of a loved they have lost, so I carry them with me on the day. That has proven to be a good way to raise money. It’s an honour to run the London Marathon in their memory too.
“I’m so excited for race day. I’ve got my family and friends coming to cheer me on. Everybody who has run the London Marathon says the atmosphere is incredible, and I can’t wait to experience that for myself.
“The last 18 months have been incredible: I lost six stone, I’m running the London Marathon and I met a wonderful man, who is now my fiancé. I’m truly living my best life.”