He would have thought I was bonkers: running in memory of my uncle Keith
Liam’s uncle, Keith, sadly passed away from Pulmonary Fibrosis in January 2023. Liam ran the Manchester 10k earlier this year in Keith’s memory and fundraised for Asthma + Lung UK.
Liam with his mum and Keith
In January 2020, my uncle Keith was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and was told he had three to five years to live. Three years later, in January 2023, he sadly passed away.
I decided that I wanted to run the Manchester 10k in memory of Keith, and to raise money for Asthma + Lung UK to help support their work.
He was like a best friend to me
Keith was my uncle, and he was someone that I was really close to growing up. He was always adamant that I never called him Uncle though, it was just Keith. That was the relationship we had. When my Mum and Dad were working throughout the week after school, my grandparents would look after me and Keith was there living with them at the time. He was a huge figure to me and like a best friend. He was my witness when I got married. Throughout my life, he gave me a lot of advice and inspiration and he was someone that was there for me and he is missed terribly. He would have thought I was bonkers running a 10k, but he would have been proud I’m sure.
He was a Burnley FC fan, and for the Manchester 10k, I had a Burnley shirt with Keith’s name on and the number 54 for his birth year. He was the one that also got me following Burnley. I was being pulled different ways with other family members following other clubs, but that is the club I chose because of him. We went to games together when I was growing up and it was great fun.
An awe-inspiring day
On the day I was apprehensive because I didn’t want to let anybody down or fail. It was emotional doing the run in his name. You see other people running with t-shirts with people’s faces on and its awe inspiring. It gives you a boost around the course and the fact that everybody is sharing that. My wife and daughter were at the start and finish line cheering me on and my Mum, Dad and Aunty were halfway round the course. Running past them was really encouraging for me and emotional for them to be there to see it.
My advice for anyone considering doing a race would be to just go for it, don’t think or dwell on it. Be proud of what you’re doing and of the cause.
We’d like to say thank you to Liam who has fundraised £768 for to help support our vital work for those with lung conditions. Feeling inspired to take on your own challenge? Check out our range of events. And if you don’t see anything you fancy, you can choose your own event to fundraise for us. We’ll support you every step of the way.
We empower people with lung conditions to make changes that can be transformative.
Please donate now to help make sure people with lung conditions can live well this year.
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