Brocklesby brothers marathon takeover!

Brocklesby brothers marathon takeover!

When runners take the start line of the London Marathon they often know they’ll have family support somewhere along the route. For Ben, from Chalfont St Giles, he won’t need to wait to spot his family on the route, as he’ll be joined at the start line by not one, not two but three of his brothers. For the Brocklesbys, running the London Marathon will be a real family affair. With their beloved dad, Ian, at the heart of it all.  

Ben tells us more about how the brothers came to be running the famous marathon together and why running it in Rennie Grove Peace vests means so much to the whole family.  

Ben says:  

“My company, Origin Doors and Windows, has been a corporate supporter of Rennie Grove Peace for around 15 years – originally supporting Rennie Grove Hospice Care. In that time I’ve often said ‘you always hope you never need to call on the service the charity provides’ but sadly a couple of years ago my family did need to call on the charity’s services.”

Support for the whole family

“My dad, Ian, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018 which was successfully treated but then recurred in a very aggressive form. As his health deteriorated, he was referred to the Rennie Grove Peace Hospice at Home team. It was my dad’s wish to die at home and with the help of the Hospice at Home team, that became possible.  

“Not only did the nursing team support my dad and look after his medical needs, they also really supported the whole family. My parents were married for over 45 years so dealing with my dad’s illness was obviously incredibly tough on my mum. The Rennie Grove Peace Hospice at Home team helped her with things like caring for Dad and making decisions at an otherwise overwhelming time.  

“Knowing that a team of trained nurses were just a phone call away took a huge burden off Mum. The charity’s team of carers (rapid personalised care service) also came in to care for Dad twice per day which really allowed us to focus on spending that time with Dad as a family, knowing that his care was all in hand.  

“Dad died on Friday 13 October 2023. My brother, Josh, has his birthday on 11 October. That was the last day that Dad was really Dad. It was lovely. We all spent time with him – my sons were showing him videos and we just enjoyed that time together. Then he started to deteriorate and on the Friday, he died peacefully.  

“Josh is a vicar and my parents both have a strong faith so after Dad died, Josh said a few words. Then we all went and sat in the living room and toasted Dad with a G&T.  

A final farewell

“The Rennie Grove Peace carers arrived to help clean up Dad and get him ready for the undertaker. We were all sitting in the living room when we heard music coming from Dad’s room. We had played music throughout his illness as we had read that hearing is often the last sense to go.  

“Mum thought we must have left the radio on so asked me to go and turn it off. As I approached his room I realised that it wasn’t the radio. One of Dad’s Rennie Grove Peace carers, Natasha, was singing the most amazing requiem to Dad.   

“When I heard it, the tears just started flowing. I called the others and we all just stood outside the room, listening to her amazing voice and her final farewell to our dad who we loved so dearly.  

“It was just such a lovely way for Dad to go. Natasha had cared for Dad during his illness and she had shared with him that she was a singer. Dad was always fascinated by people and what they have been up to – right to the end. So they really connected and she wanted to give the gift of song to Dad as he was leaving the home for the final time.  

“It was just amazing. At such a difficult time she gave us a little thing that gave us so much joy. It really is a moment that we can treasure.” 

Running the London Marathon as a family

The following year Ben’s youngest brother, Nathan, shared that he would love to run the London Marathon to raise money for Rennie Grove Peace and say thank you to the charity for the care his dad had received.  

Ben says he joked with the brothers that they should all do it and soon it became a reality after the brothers applied for charity places through Rennie Grove Peace. Ben says:  

“I’ve run marathons in the past but it has been a while – my last marathon was around eight years ago. Nate has run a marathon, too, but our brothers Matt and Josh have never done anything like this.  

“We don’t all live near to each other so we’re mostly training separately, but we keep in touch about how training is going via WhatsApp and we can track each other’s training runs on apps like Strava. 

“We definitely all plan to start the race together. I know from experience that it can be hard to stick together for the whole route. But we’ll definitely start together and it would be amazing to finish it together, too, if we can.” 

Ben has been training with his fox red labrador, Honey, who he credits with rekindling his joy of running. But training for a marathon while running a business and raising a family is no mean feat. Ben says:  

“I have a gym routine that I stick to during the week then go for a long run at the weekends. I got my miles up quickly and have completed a full marathon during training so I know it’s possible. It hasn’t necessarily been the ideal training plan but it has worked for me and fitted in with my life.” 

When asked how he’s feeling about the day, Ben says:  

“I’m super excited about the day. I’ve run it before so I know what to expect and that the London Marathon is amazing, whatever the weather. I’ve done it in rain and I’ve also completed the hottest London Marathon on record. So I know I can cope with whatever the weather throws at us!  

“The crowd and the scenery are just amazing. It really spurs you on. We’ll have lots of family support on the day and I know from experience that it’s just wonderful to experience the atmosphere and the culmination of all the talking about it, training and fundraising. 

“I’ve really enjoyed the fundraising side of things. It’s a while since I’ve done this and it’s just so rewarding to see the reaction. When I share my fundraising page, people often get in touch and share their own experience of a loved one being cared for by Rennie Grove Peace. That really brings home how important it is to keep supporting the charity – so other families can benefit from the care that was so important to us when Dad was ill.”