Two Fenland women with personal connections to the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre in Wisbech will be going the extra 26.2 miles to raise funds for the charity-funded service.

Wisbech Standard: Family photo: Becki Harvey as a child with her Grandmother Margaret Halstead, who attended the Day Treatment Centre every three weeks for eight years. She is aiming to raise £1500 in her London Marathon effort for the charity-funded service.Family photo: Becki Harvey as a child with her Grandmother Margaret Halstead, who attended the Day Treatment Centre every three weeks for eight years. She is aiming to raise £1500 in her London Marathon effort for the charity-funded service. (Image: Archant)

Jane Clarke, a registered staff nurse who works there, and Becki Harvey, whose grandmother was cared for by the team, are training for their first marathon in April.

Jane, who works alongside a team of 10 staff and volunteers at the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre based at North Cambs Hospital, provides hands-on care and support to hundreds of people living with a life-limiting illness in Wisbech, the Fens and the surrounding area.

She said: “The unit not only offers day therapy - which helps us to assess and support patient’s physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs - but also provides symptom management, psychological support and treatments such as blood transfusions and iron or other infusions for things like pain relief.”

Wisbech Standard: Jane Clarke, a staff nurse at the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre is running Manchester marathon next month, to raise funds for the charity-funded service in Wisbech where she works.Jane Clarke, a staff nurse at the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre is running Manchester marathon next month, to raise funds for the charity-funded service in Wisbech where she works. (Image: Archant)

Jane took up running in 2014 and has since raised £800 through her running challenges.

Her run in Manchester on Sunday April 8will be her first marathon distance.

She added: “I know it’s going to be really hard, but every day I see first-hand how we make real differences to the lives of those we care for.

Wisbech Standard: Becki Harvey in her Team Arthur running vest. She is taking on the London Marathon on April 22 in memory of her grandma.Becki Harvey in her Team Arthur running vest. She is taking on the London Marathon on April 22 in memory of her grandma. (Image: Archant)

“When I was doing my twenty-mile training run at the weekend, I was thinking about one lady who has done 299 marathons.

“She - and some of our other patients who used to run when they were younger – are my motivation when things get tough.

“I have the choice to run still, so I will: it may hurt for a little while but what they’re going through is a lot harder. Thinking of them is what keeps me going.”

Becki Harvey, whose family live in and around Wisbech, will be running the Virgin Money Giving London Marathon on Sunday April 22 in memory of her grandma Margaret Halstead.

She wants to say thank you for “the care and warmth” that staff showed throughout the treatment she received for myelodysplasia syndrome.

The condition meant that Margaret visited the treatment centre for blood transfusions every three weeks for eight years.

The nursing and charity staff soon became familiar faces to Becki’s granddad and other family members.

After Margaret died last August, Becki secured a charity bond place in the marathon event and has pledged to raise £1,500 for the cause.

She added: “The team went over and above for our family in terms of support and advice on so many occasions.

“We are so grateful for everything that was done for grandma. The centre was more than just a treatment centre to her. It provided community when living with quite a rare illness.

“It’s important to me that other families like us are always supported by the great work Arthur Rank Hospice Charity does.”

Having reached over £1,000, Becki is still working hard to fundraise (alongside her marathon training). Her fundraising efforts are being matched by her employer, Santander.

To support Becki visit justgiving.com/fundraising/beckiharvey or to donate towards Jane’s fundraising efforts go to justgiving.com/fundraising/jane-clarke16

To find out more about running a marathon for the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre, call Amy Bidwell in the fundraising office on 01223 5883, or to talk to a member of the team about other ways to support the treatment centre, contact Phillippa Ashcroft on 07766 733062 or email phillippa.ashcroft@arhc.org.uk