Many keen runners double up on their passion to help raise money for a cause that is meaningful for them. Lloyd Kembrey is one of those runners.
The 30-year-old from Downend, Bristol will raise money for local charity Jessie May by running the Rome Marathon on Sunday 27th March. The charity provides specialist palliative care to children with terminal and life-shortening conditions, and their families, in the South West. Jessie May has a team of dedicated nurses who provide palliative care during a child’s life, and bereavement care for families for up to 5 years after a child’s death.
Jessie May holds special place in the heart of Lloyd’s family, having provided this specialist care for his cousins Francesca and Josephine,
“From that time, I have been in awe of the work and support the charity and their team provides to both the children they care for, and their families. We as a family have been involved in many fundraising efforts, including attending various business open days, bag packing in supermarkets, and fundraising outside the Bristol Hippodrome at a young age with our cousins. Because of this when I decided to run the Rome marathon, I of course decided to do it on behalf of Jessie May and in my cousin’s honour.”
Lloyd discovered a new love for running during lockdown, when his regular team-based games were suspended,
“ I discovered that I greatly enjoyed running longer distances, and along with 3 friends we decided to run our own “unofficial” marathon from Bristol to Bath, and back again, in May 2021. This was my first time running a Marathon and immediately after we all agreed never again! Then after a few months later we all decided that we would love to discover a city through running a Marathon and having previously been to Rome before we felt it was a great place to explore this way. The food and beer after the run will surely make up for it!”
Lloyd is aiming for a speedy time of around 3:40 in Rome and you can support his fundraising effort via his fundraising page, https://wishy.org.uk/wish/148.