A dedicated road runner has completed an epic marathon challenge to raise over £3,000 for the charity that cared for his brother.
Prab Sahota, 38, from Tipton in the West Midlands completed the 2017 London Marathon in April for Acorns Children’s Hospice and its work providing care for children and support for their families.
Pavan, Prab’s younger brother, was born with muscular dystrophy received care at the charity’s Black Country hospice based in Walsall. He sadly passed away in December 1997, aged just 16.
Prab, said: “It will be 20 years this year since my brother passed away and I wanted to do something big for his anniversary year. I try to do a charity event every year and each time I like to challenge myself and do something that is out of my comfort zone. Running 26 miles was something that I’d not done before – the farthest that I’d run in a competitive race was 13 miles.
“On the day there was a great buzz. I had a mixture of nervous excitement and the knowledge that I was raising money for such a great cause. I started well, pacing myself, but after the 15th mile my left knee gave in and I had to complete the rest of the race by hobbling and walking.
“The happy memories of my brother and the reason I was doing the run helped me get to the finish line – not in the time I was hoping for – but I managed to complete it, which was a great achievement!”
Acorns provides specialist palliative care and support to life limited and life threatened children and support for their families across the Midlands. Services include short breaks, emergency and end of life care.
The charity also runs a number of support groups for the wider family and Prab and his family have ongoing connections with Acorns through the charity’s bereavement service.
Prab, continued: “Pavan had many fond and happy memories at Acorns so it’s just nice to offer something back. The fundraising is just a small way of helping raise awareness for this charity which is so close to mine and my family’s hearts.
“The support from my friends, family, colleagues and others has been amazing and kept me motivated to keep pushing through the pain.”
In addition to the London Marathon, Prab has taken part in a variety of fundraising events, including the Birmingham Half Marathon, a Great Wall of China trek and an abseil, raising in excess of £7,000 for charity.
To continue providing its care for families like Prab’s, Acorns must raise nearly £10 million every year and it relies on fundraising for the majority of this amount.
To find out more about the charity and how you can support it, visit www.acorns.org.uk
