A Stourport student plans to run the Droitwich Half Marathon and raise money for St Richard’s Hospice, in memory of his dad.
Alex Yarnold, aged 17 from Worcester, who attends Stourport Sixth Form, took up running earlier this year as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award. He decided he wanted to run the Droitwich Half marathon on Sunday 2nd November and raise money for the hospice on behalf of his father, Andrew Yarnold.
Andrew Yarnold, who grew up in Stourport, was a keen runner and competed in many competitions. He died suddenly after completing the Droitwich Half Marathon in March 2011 but had planned that his next run would raise money for the local hospice.
Alex said; “I knew all about my Dad wanting to raise money for St Richard’s Hospice so when I started running I decided that I wanted to run in the Droitwich Half Marathon and raise money for St Richard’s in his memory. My training has been quite hard but I am looking forward to running in the event and am glad to be able to help St Richard’s to continue their work caring for patients and their families.”
Alex’s training has been supported by Mike Knott, a friend of the family and long term member of Stourport Athletics Club, who will run alongside him in the half marathon to encourage him to the finishing line.
His mother, Deanne Yarnold-Hill, said; “As his mom, I am extremely proud of the confident and caring young man Alex has become. I know his dad will be looking down on him and will also be very proud of him for doing this and for coming through such a difficult experience with such humanity. I know Alex is very grateful to Mike Knott for all his support and encouragement during this year of training. We are also grateful to the organisers of the Droitwich Half Marathon event, who are delighted that Alex wants to run in memory of his dad and plan to mention Alex and Andrew at the start of the race.”
To support Alex by making a donation, visit his fundraising page atwww.justgiving.com/Alex-Yarnold