“It’s about time I got involved myself!” Mary from Sue Ryder gets dashing this December

Mary only started her role with Sue Ryder three months ago, but says she is “loving it already! In the first few days, I had already realised that the job was definitely for me. When I joined, my manager said to me ‘it’s like a family here at the hospice’ and that’s definitely what I’ve experienced.

“Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, and I feel at home already.” And she finds that working for Sue Ryder gives her a strong sense of purpose, “there’s something about feeling that you’ve made a difference at the end of the day which is really special.”

Mary says that the December Daily Dash feels like “quite a big challenge” for her. She has taken part in some running events in the past, but says “this is definitely the hardest challenge yet. I got into running during lockdown, but my routine slipped a bit when things started reopening. When I was thinking about signing up for the December Daily Dash, I hadn’t run for a couple of months, so I went to the gym just to check that I could still run 5k!”

Asked about her reasons for signing up, Mary says that “I wanted to experience the December Daily Dash for myself. Events like this are a really important way of raising awareness, especially as it’s a national event, so it brings people together from across the country. A lot of the team here at Sue Ryder are taking part, and there’s a sense of us all doing it together, even though we’ll be running separately.”

So how does she plan to keep herself motivated to run even on those cold winter mornings?

“I think I’ll be alright for the first week or so, but after that, it will be the incredible stories that I’ve heard from our families and patients about their experience with Sue Ryder that will inspire me. I have seen first-hand what an amazing impact fundraising can have on people’s lives, so that will definitely keep me going!”

“I’ve heard so much from those who have taken part in the Dash before, who have loved it and it’s one of the reasons I signed up myself. I know that taking part will be beneficial for my well-being as well as raising awareness and funds, and this will be a feeling shared by everyone who takes part.

“If someone donates £21 to your page, that’s enough to provide one hour of care for someone who needs it most. And that’s £21 Sue Ryder wouldn’t have had if you hadn’t taken part! People might think ‘is it worth it?’ but every single pound we can raise makes a huge difference to people’s lives.”