A prison officer from Weymouth is running the London Marathon for the hospice that cared for his mum at the end of her life.
Andrew Valente, 50 is a prison officer at HMP The Verne, Portland, and is set to run the London Marathon tomorrow (Sunday, April 21), in order to raise money for Weldmar Hospicecare who cared for his mum in 2016 during her last days.
The father-of-two said: “In 2016, I lost my mum to cancer. During her final days, she received exceptional care from the hospice. Their compassion not only comforted her but also provided solace to our entire family throughout what was a really challenging time.”
Ever since then, he has wanted to do something meaningful in her memory and to express his gratitude to the charity that made his mother’s final days as peaceful as possible.
He added: “I only started running during the covid pandemic for something to do outside of work. I started by doing Couch to 5k, and this weekend is my fourth marathon, I’ve raised over £2,000 so far for the hospice but every penny helps.”
This is Andrew’s fourth marathon to date, and he hopes to complete it in under four and a half hours.
Andrew was inspired to start working at HMP The Verne after a former colleague who had been a prison officer told him that he would be a good fit.
He has been fitting in training sessions by running two or three times a week depending on his work schedule.
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