The Chief Executive of a Stafford charity took on a 5k run with family to help raise funds for their cause.

Professor Richard Soulsby has worked at Katharine House Hospice for more than 20 years and saw the Tatton Park 5k as an opportunity to help the charity.

He said: “Katharine House is, for obvious reasons, my number one charity. I know
from all the feedback we receive from patients and families that every day our care
teams make a real difference to them at a really important time in their lives.
“I am always meeting amazing people who raise funds for us and thought I should
show at least some of the personal commitment that they have shown to support our
work.”
Richard completed the 5k on Saturday, 30 September, with wife Alison, son Jack
and his niece-in-law Georgi. Georgi’s mother, Susan Osbourne, also helped by
driving and supplying the group with food and drink.
Richard had been training for the event for the last four months: “It was my first time
doing a 5k and it was definitely more of a walk than a run but it was a really
enjoyable event, less so the actual 5k. It was slightly disheartening to be overtaken
in the last kilometer by a gentleman who had run the 10k and must have been at
least 75!
“Tatton Park is a lovely place and I would like to do another 5k to see if I could
improve my time.”
So far the group have raised more than £1,200 with more coming in. Richard said:
“We’re so pleased to have exceeded our fundraising target. It's just an opportunity to
raise something for the hospice, so anything is welcomed.
“All funds raised, no matter how much is involved, are really important to enable us
to keep delivering all of our services for free. What I know is that the money will be
put to good use for the benefit of the people of mid-Staffordshire.”
Katharine House Hospice aims to enable patients with life limiting conditions to live
life as fully as possible and make the most of the time they have, as well as
supporting their loved ones.
It costs £3.7m a year to provide vital free palliative care services and they rely
heavily on the support from our community.

To donate to Richard’s 5k visit the group’s JustGiving page
www.justgiving.com/page/thenorthsouthdivide