Sarah and Richard are up to Run £10k in memory of their mum 

Sarah and Richard Hopton are taking up a gruelling challenge and running the Pontefract 10k in memory of her beloved mum to raise much-needed funds for our hospice cared for her.

Sue Hopton, a dedicated mum of three, died in May last year, just weeks after a shock diagnosis of stage four cancer. Due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time, Sue’s family were unable to visit her in hospital, making the heart-breaking situation unbearable.

It was only when Sue, 76, was moved into The Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract that Sarah, her brother Richard, and sister Claire were able to visit their mum, spending precious time together in the final five days of her life.

“I will forever be grateful to the hospice for that time with mum,”- said Sarah. “Their care was amazing, they always had time for everyone, despite the fact they were incredibly busy and stretched.  It gave us massive comfort to know Mum was being looked after in the best way and we valued the time with her so much because we hadn’t been able to see her.  In the last week of her life they did an amazing thing, they allowed her to die as comfortably as she could and allowed her to have visitors. It was such a saviour for us, it gave us some time back.”

Sue, who worked as a cleaner in a Pontefract school up until a year before her death passed away on May 11 2021, and the Pontefract 10k will be held on May 15, so her family felt the event was a good fit, and also the hospice is the official charity for the event.

Up until a few weeks ago, Sarah had never ran in her life, so the training has been gruelling. 
“Neither of us are runners so this will be a challenge. It’s physically a big challenge, but psychologically it’s something I need to do, everything is driven by that and I’ll make myself achieve the physical because I’m so determined to finish.”-explained Sarah.

Sarah and Richard aim to raise £1,000 for the hospice – but will be delighted with any amount.

Jill Kirkham, Fundraising Manager at the hospice said: “The Prince of Wales Hospice is so grateful for the support from Sarah, her family. With daily running costs of £11,000 per day, we could not do what we do without support like Sarah and Richard’s.”

To sponsor Sarah and Richard please visit their Just Giving page.