D e d i cat e d C lub At h l e t e G i v i n g S o m e t h i n g B ack i n V i rtu a l Lo n d o n M a rat h o n
DEDICATED CLUB ATHLETE GIVING SOMETHING BACK IN VIRTUAL LONDON MARATHON By Steve Denniss
able to recover from her injuries, passing away in May 2016. If she had survived, she and her family would have come to rely on the charity Headway. Amongst the services that Headway provides are grants to families of head injury victims, the headway helpline, and a team of acute trauma support nurses.
I’m Steve Denniss, I’ve lived in Dartford for about 5 years now and I was delighted, at the age of 60, to have gained a place in the Virgin Money London Marathon 2020 running for Headway - the Brain Injury Association. My desire to run for Headway is borne out of a lasting memory of the love and fun brought into our lives by Amy Haskew, daughter of my cousins Richard and Liz. Amy was a very talented young lady full of life and adventure. In 2016 She was studying for her master’s degree in Forensic Psychology in Canterbury at the University of Kent. Whilst on an extended holiday in Australia she was involved in a tragic cycling accident. Following the accident, she was on life support in a Melbourne hospital for just over a month. Sadly, Amy wasn’t
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My journey towards this London Marathon experience has been strongly influenced by living in Dartford. Since moving here in 2015 I have joined several local groups including the Dartford Concert Band and the Dartford Harriers Athletic Club. I became a Harrier at the beginning of 2017 to help with my running and the club has encouraged and developed my abilities significantly over the past 3 years enabling me to take on greater distances. In my bid for the London Marathon the club has helped with training and useful tips and advice. When I undertook to run 10 - 10ks over 10 consecutive days to help with my fundraising in September 2019 the Harriers helped with pre-event training, and organised 2 of the runs as part of the clubs busy training programme. My involvement with the Harriers in giving something back through my charity running earned me the award for Dedicated Club Athlete 2019. I’ve also completed over 100 parkruns in Dartford and have been on the volunteering team on more than a dozen occasions. Many of the park-runners have contributed to my fundraising. Fundraising was going very well, and our total passed the £3000 mark in March. Obviously with the coronavirus pandemic, headway, like many charities has been hit hard and any further amount we can raise will be gratefully received and wisely spent. I recently had a short spell in Darent Valley hospital during which I thought I might need to call on the services of Headway myself. Fortunately, I’m recovering now, and I am convinced that the health, fitness, and mental positivity I have gained due to