Amanda and Alan

Amanda explains how the memory of their baby daughter Tallula inspired her and her husband Alan to take part in the Virtual London Marathon.

To do something positive in her honour and on her birthday, was just amazing.

In 2010, our baby girl Tallula was born 11 days overdue. Our world came crashing down after her swift delivery, when she had to be resuscitated for half an hour and died, unexpectedly. She was perfect in every way.

The Virtual Marathon in 2021 happened to take place on what would have been Tallula’s 11^th birthday, so we decided to take part together and raise funds for Child Bereavement UK, the charity which helped us in our darkest days.

Alan started running shortly after we lost Tallula in 2010 and I started during lockdown in 2020. We both found running really beneficial as a way to cope with the effects of the traumatic experience we’d endured.

To prepare for the Virtual London Marathon, we printed out a 16-week training programme which we tried to stick to. Alan was far more motivated than me and stuck to it whereas I had a few setbacks, including breaking my rib which put me out of training for a few weeks!

Apart from the weight loss that goes with training for a marathon (which was brilliant), emotionally it was really comforting to know that we had already been through the very worst pain imaginable, and nothing could ever be as bad and excruciating as the day we lost our daughter. To do something positive in her honour and on her birthday, was just amazing.

The fundraising team at Child Bereavement UK was great, sending us regular emails and responding to any questions we had. They sent us our vests and wrist bands and it felt great to be a part of such a worthwhile cause; we were so proud to be running for Child Bereavement UK.

Our advice to others thinking of taking on a challenge is don’t be afraid to try something new and remember that it will never be as hard as what you are already going through. The joy and comfort that comes from being able to give back and do something good in your loved one’s honour is just immeasurable.

If you have been inspired to take on a challenge for us, please visit our challenge events page, contact our fundraising team on [email protected] or call us on 01494 569048.

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