Virgin London Marathon

Odette Mould

Supporting

My story

[p]I am so proud to have finally got a place in the Virgin London Marathon to run in memory of my son Harry. I have been running for many years now but before Harry died I had only run up to 10k. I had no drive to want to go further. Harry died in 2009. It was sudden and unexpected and shattered the world I knew. He and his twin sister Jessica were all I lived for. I loved to plan their birthday parties moths in advance and when they turned 5 we took 20 children to the cinema to watch High School Musical 3. They dressed up, I made them all ID cards and they all got up and danced at the end. It was awesome!! I had no idea that it would be the last joint birthday party I would ever organise for them. For some time after Harry's death I couldn't bare the thought of running. I watched my husband train and run the London marathon in 2012 before I found the courage to start again. The atmosphere and experience of being a spectator was so amazing that I was inspired. For 7 years I have been applying to enter. In the meantime I have run a few half marathons, some 10k's and 1 marathon in 2018, in Milton Keynes. I told myself I wanted to do it just one more time, but only if I got a place to run in London.[/p][p]Well, now I have the place and it's time to realise my dream. I almost can't yet believe it! [/p][p]Harry's Rainbow is the charity I founded in memory of Harry, and support children bereaved of a parent or sibling. We provide memory boxes, books and resources to bereaved children. We organise groups, activities and trips to facilitate contact with bereaved children and their families and we also organise short breaks for them. Your donation would mean a great deal to help us to continue supporting families in their time of need.[/p]