‘I’m doing this for the hospital and my dad’ – marathon run to bring back poignant memories for Ross

This year’s London Marathon may be Ross Burton’s third but it will certainly be his most poignant.
The 36-year-old from Cookham in Berkshire will be running in memory of his father John and raising funds for patients of the ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) where his dad died.
“It was the morning of the London Marathon in 2016 when my dad passed away,” explains Ross, a Prescribing Adviser to the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, “I remember sitting outside the hospital and thinking about the runners hundreds of miles away”.
John, who lived in Northfield Birmingham, was rushed to QEHB’s Critical Care Unit after falling at home and died shortly afterwards.
“The news that he would never regain consciousness delivered by the consultant will, no doubt, live on long in the memory. At that most difficult of times the organ transplant nurse asked to speak with us to see whether we knew of Dad’s wishes or whether we had any thoughts on whether we would be happy for any viable organs to be donated,” added Ross.
“Decisions made and a few hours later the family were called to the hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning to say our final goodbyes. It was a difficult couple of days but I was thankful for and really appreciated the support of the hospital’s teams.
“I’ve always had a strange love-hate relationship with the London Marathon, having run it twice previously, with Dad there to support me on both occasions. I knew I wanted to raise money for the QEHB Charity so running the marathon seemed the obvious choice.”
Laura Power, Senior Fundraiser at QEHB Charity, said: “We are delighted that Ross has decided to run the London Marathon for QEHB Charity, and we look forward to welcoming him on the day! The money kindly donated by Ross will go towards funding extra equipment, facilities, research and ‘added extras’ for patients in Critical Care, over and above what the NHS is able to fund. We’d like to wish him the best of luck and thank him for his generosity.”
Not only will this be Ross’s third marathon - “I like challenging challenges” – he’s also previously completed a triathlon and a Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle ride. However, he does admit training has slipped since he and wife Helen had their first child, James two years ago.
“I’m doing this for the hospital and my dad - he was there before and he’ll be there again every step of the way.”
To sponsor Ross visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/RossBurtonOCCG
The Virgin Money London marathon 2017 takes place on Sunday April 23.