A REDDITCH woman will be jogging, walking and crawling a 50 mile route in just one day around Arrow Valley Lake to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Sonia Tudor decided to do the challenge to celebrate her 50th birthday and give back to the charity for all they did for her mum and dad whilst they were both facing a cancer diagnosis.
Sonia, aged 49, said: “In 2002, my beautiful mum was diagnosed with cancer.
“Eight weeks later, my mother had died – she was only 50!
“In our darkest hour, the Macmillan nurse came to our home.
“She was the calm in our storm. She was our angel. She even came to my mum’s funeral.
“She made such an impact on us and I truly believe that until you’ve had a Macmillan nurse in your life, you won’t understand how incredible they are.”
Sadly, in 2010, Sonia’s dad also died from lung cancer aged 58.
Once again, Sonia and her family received invaluable support from a local Macmillan nurse.
As a result of the care both her mum and her dad received, Sonia decided to become a Macmillan volunteer.
From there she went on to become a Macmillan ambassador for Worcestershire.
Now she is to take on a 50 mile circuit challenge around Arrow Valley Lake to raise £1,000 for the charity.
And on Monday, August 12 she’ll be jogging, walking and maybe even crawling her way around from 7am and has vowed not to stop until she reaches the 50 mile mark.
“I can’t face having a big 50th birthday party,” she said.
“It would be heartbreaking to see all the empty chairs which should be filled with people I wish were there.
“Instead, I decided to run. I love to run and to be able to run with friends whilst raising funds for Macmillan so they can be there for others, like they were for us.
“I have a 13-year-old autistic son who will try and run the first and last lap with me.
“We have lots of autistic kids from Alistair’s school joining us too which I am looking forward to. I welcome anyone who wants to come along to join in to do so!”
To donate to Sonia’s fundraiser, visit www.justgiving.com/ and key in sonia-tudor50 .
