Running for Daisy: Isle of Wight Challenge will help fund new bereavement suite
Wayne Chalmers and his friends will run more than 100km this weekend to raise money for a suite for families who experience the loss of a baby.
This weekend a group of 14 friends are aiming to “walk, run, stumble” to the finish of a 106km (65 mile) ultra marathon to raise money for a bereavement suite for families who experience the devastating loss of a baby.
Wayne Chalmers, whose daughter Daisy sadly passed away just an hour after being born, will lead a team of runners to take on the gruelling Isle of Wight Challenge.
They are raising money for his Team Daisy charity, and a bereavement suite at Northampton Hospital in her memory.
The new suite received planning permission last year, and the hospital - along with Team Daisy - have been fundraising ever since.
In all, it is likely to cost around £150,000.
“The hospital contacted us to say it is actually going to be called the Daisy Suite,” said Wayne.
“It makes me immensely proud. Obviously we would prefer Daisy to be with us, but we can’t change that so this is the next best thing we can do.
“The work that lots and lots of people have done towards this is brilliant. Once it is built it is something that can never be taken away.”
Wayne told Running Tales: “It’s going to be a big challenge. I didn’t realise I had so many stupid friends to be honest - it’s a big, big thing.”
Daisy Chalmers, Wayne and his wife Sarah’s fourth child, was born on October 11, 2018, but passed away due to a major heart defect.
“She left a huge void in all of our lives,” said Wayne.
“Child loss is still very much a difficult subject for people to discuss and we have worked hard to raise awareness and ensure that Daisy's name can be seen and heard.
“Team Daisy was born literally two days after Daisy passed away. My idea was to create a legacy in terms of wanting her to be remembered by lots of people.
“And really to help people who are in the same situation as us, or continue to be in a similar situation to us.
“There’s still 100 babies, in Northampton alone, dying either prematurely or after birth. It is a staggering number.”
Wayne, who describes himself as someone who has “never been a competent runner,” has previously run events such as the London Landmarks Half-Marathon and Great North Run, but has never taken on anything of the magnitude of the Isle of Wight Challenge.
Described as an event which allows “you to push yourself further in stunning scenery,” the full 106km ultra is known as “a tough one”.
Wayne said: “When you get towards the end of something like the London Landmarks you see signs like ‘just another parkrun to go,’ but we’re going to have another 20 parkruns or something ridiculous.”
He told Running Tales he had been persuaded to enter by his friend Luke Scott, who has previously completed it.
“In a moment of weakness, I said I would do it. Then others said if I did, they would. We’ve ended up with 14 people.
“We’re going to start in the morning and just keep on going until we finish it.”
For more on Team Daisy, visit their website at www.teamdaisy.co.uk
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