Effingham Dentist Teams Up With Daughter to Complete Double Marathon Challenge

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A dentist and his daughter from Effingham are recovering after a hectic few weeks, which saw them complete two marathons.

Keith and Pip Bolding ran the Brighton and London marathons with just a week of rest between. All in memory of Keith’s mother, Jill, who sadly passed away after battling leukaemia.

The father and daughter team decided to apply for the London Marathon in August when Jill was first diagnosed. At the time, she was told she had just six months to live and she supported the duo through their training. She was determined to watch them cross the finish lines, but sadly died on the 18th March, just a couple of weeks before the Brighton Marathon.

Keith, 58, is a dentist and owner of the Oxshott Dental Practice. He said he has never been much of an athlete, but was encouraged to take up running by Pip at the age of 55. The pair have trained together and crossed the finish lines together, experiencing a mixture of emotions, from relief and joy to intense sadness that Jill was not there to celebrate with them.

Keith said that his mother had told him that she would be with them while they were running even if she didn’t make the race and both runners said that they felt her presence when tackling the gruelling runs.

Keith and Pip ran to raise money for Macmillan Cancer, a charity, which cared for Keith’s father during his battle with pancreatic cancer and a cause very close to Jill’s heart. Over the last 20 years, since his father died, Jill had raised a lot of money for the charity and the pair agreed that she would want them to run in aid of Macmillan.

Initially, the fundraising target for the challenge was £4,000, but the duo has collected almost £5,000 and they are delighted with the result. Both Keith and Pip thanked colleagues, friends, patients and family members for all their support, as well as their kind donations.

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