Hi, we’re James and Ally and on Sunday 19th April we ran the Manchester Marathon in memory of Graham Collier (James’ wonderful older brother) and to raise money for LOROS Hospice.
In 2025, Graham was unexpectedly diagnosed with bowel cancer and after a very difficult, painful and turbulent few months, he was transferred to LOROS hospice in November 2025.
The care that Graham received whilst he lived his final few weeks at LOROS was nothing short of outstanding, the care and attention from every single staff member was simply incredible and truly comforting to his family during such an emotional and difficult time. Nothing was ever too much for the staff and they really went above and beyond to make Graham feel comfortable and looked after.
We know first hand the care and support LOROS provides to patients and families and how vital funding is to this incredible charity. There was no question that we wanted to raise as much money so that others like Graham would have the same level of dedicated care.
At aged 42, Graham was taken far too soon from the world but the impact that he left on his friends and families hearts will be remembered forever. He absolutely loved Manchester United and his loyalty to the club was something he was so proud of so taking on the Manchester Marathon was the most perfect place to honour him and make him proud.
Training started in January and every Saturday we committed to our training runs, running further each week and building up the miles. We faced every weather possible from sunny days, to rain and hail but we pushed through each weekend knowing how important this challenge was to us.
April rolled round quickly and we soon found ourselves on the start line of the Manchester marathon just around the corner from Old Trafford! The day was incredible, the atmosphere electric and we had a smile on our faces throughout the whole 26.2 miles. The challenge was tough, but we know that patients and families at LOROS are having even tougher times. Our friends and family came out to cheer us on which was the ultimate boost we needed.
We raised a total of £2,285 for LOROS and we are already looking for our next fundraising challenge to help support LOROS, a wonderful charity that will always have such a special place in our hearts.
*Thank you so much to James and Ally for sharing their heartwarming story and for raising such an incredible amount for the hospice.*
