My Story

My London Marathon Story

Once again, I’m beyond honored to lace up my sneakers—running my 14th marathon and earning my 5th star—for an incredible charity that means so much to me.

Whenever I race for a cause, it’s always personal. This year, I’m fundraising for hospice care. I always knew how special these places were, but I truly understood it when my dad was in one.

The hospice team took beautiful care of him and gave us priceless moments together—talking, visiting, and watching hummingbirds outside his window. One day, my mom called to say he had fallen asleep and wouldn’t be waking up. When I arrived, she and my sister told me the nurses said he could still hear us, so they played music for him. My mom played her and my dad’s wedding song, Perhaps Love. My sister played theirs, Thank Heaven for Little Girls.

When they told me this, I burst out laughing. I said there was no way I could play mine and dads song. My mom laughed and insisted I had to—he’d love it. So I sat on his bed, warned him I didn’t mean it, and played Hit the Road Jack.

Those moments—sad, beautiful, and silly—are memories I’ll always treasure. I wouldn’t have them without hospice care. This run is my way of giving back, so other families can be supported the way ours was.