Taking on the Great North Ru,n from Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields, for Beaumond House

After his dad receiving such amazing care from a Newark charity’s “angels”, his son is now preparing to pound the pavements to give something back.

Simon John is preparing to take on the Great North Run on Sunday (September 8) to raise money for Beaumond House, who took care of his father Brian, who lived in Newark for many years with his Simon’s mum Sally, before he died in October 2023, aged 83.

Simon said: “My dad needed a lot of care in his final weeks, and we were blessed to have been introduced to Beaumond House, and I can’t put it into words.

“Their staff were so lovely and friendly and the dignity they give people is amazing - nothing is too much trouble and and even the small things, like making sure my mum had a hot meal prepared so she didn’t have to cook when she got home.

“The staff are angels, and we can’t thank them enough.”

Simon will be cheered on on the day by his mum Sally, as well as his wife Emma and children Elodie, 7, and Seb, 4.

The Great North Run, with a course between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields, is one of the world’s most popular half marathons and sees around 60,000 runners from around the world taking part.

A keen runner for many years, Simon has only been properly training for three weeks and said he isn’t as worried about achieving a particular time and scrutinising his watch, but rather to soak up the atmosphere of the event:

“I’m really looking forward to it, I used to run a lot but I lost the running bug the last couple of years, so this was the catalyst for doing something small to give back to Beaumond House, who have done so much.”

As Beaumond House receives little government funding, Simon is also calling on new health secretary Wes Streeting to ensure that end of life charities like Beaumond House receive proper funding.

Simon is only a few pounds away from beating his £1,000 target. Any donations can be made via his JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/simon-runs-the-gnr-2024?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fsimon-runs-the-gnr-2024&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

“It’s going to be an emotional experience,” he added, “We’ve been to watch it before and the people of Newcastle are amazing, they line the whole course cheering people on and it’s always an incredible atmosphere.

“I just want to give something back to the angels who have supported us so much.”