The Dowson’s hit a family fundraising milestone
The Dowson family (Paula, Jim, Jacob and Ethan) have been supporting Penny Brohn UK for the last 10 years, pulling on their trainers every few months to raise vital funds for the charity following the support received by Paula’s cousin.
After their latest challenge in February 2024, the Brighton Half Marathon, the family hit a staggering £15,000 and Paula recently shared with us what it meant to reach such an incredible milestone.
Why did you decide to support Penny Brohn UK?
Our family have been supporting Penny Brohn UK since 2014 after my cousin, Jen Russell, was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Jen was a huge ambassador for Penny Brohn UK, and did a lot herself to support and promote the services after receiving immense support during her illness.
Jen’s family have had a lot of support from Penny Brohn UK following her passing, as well as sadly also requiring support for their own cancer diagnosis.
Can you tell us a little bit about why you chose the Brighton Half Marathon?
I first ran the Brighton Half Marathon in 2015 in memory of Jen. It’s such a great event. Firstly it’s mostly flat, so that’s a huge benefit! Plus the atmosphere and crowd are amazing. It will always be a special event for me as it holds so many good memories.
This year’s event (2024) was my 5th time running the race, and as my 17-year-old twin boys were now eligible to run too, it seemed a fitting that we all run it together. Carrying the fundraising legacy into the next generation.
What was the biggest highlight/most memorable moment of the Brighton Half?
Crossing the finish line with my boys will be a memory I will always treasure. I had a calf injury and so I was struggling to finish but the whole reason for continuing to run in these events is about raising as much money as possible for a fantastic charity and remembering what an inspiration Jen was throughout her illness always spurs me on to the finish line.
The boys had obviously finished well ahead of me, being young and fit, but they came back to find me at Mile 12 and ran the last mile all over again to get me over the finish line!
What does it mean to hit two incredible milestones?
10 years ago, in 2014, a place became available to run for Penny Brohn UK in the London Marathon! We’d heard a lot about the charity through Jen’s experiences and wanted to help do our bit. My husband Jim, decided to step up to the challenge, did brilliantly, and raised over £4000 alone! This was the start of our next 10 years of fundraising.
Before Jen sadly passed away in December 2014, we had already planned the next fundraiser and ‘Team Jen’ was created. Including Jen’s sister Nicki and lots of family and friends we raised another huge amount from 2 half marathons, a mud run and loads of cake sales.
Since then, we have continued to run and raise as much money and awareness about Penny Brohn UK as we possibly can. In 2016 it was my turn to run the London Marathon which was an amazing experience.
In the following years Jim ran another marathon (Bewl Water) and we both ran a few more half marathons; including Jim and I running the Bristol Half together in our now infamous purple tutus!
‘Team Jen’ has now raised over £15,000 and we are extremely grateful to everyone’s generosity and support over the past 10 years. All we wanted to do was continue to raise awareness of the services that Penny Brohn UK offer and to raise vital funds so they can continue their good work.
It was Jen who started this awareness and she’d be so happy to know we’ve hit that total, and to see the charity continue to do so much for so many. During all of our runs, whenever energy was flagging or training felt exhausting the term “Jenergy” naturally evolved. Jen’s motivation and inspiration has been with us every step of the way.
Our enormous thanks goes out to the whole of the Dowson family for their incredible support of Penny Brohn UK over the last 10 years, raising a phenomenal £15,000 along the way! That money has played a vital role in ensuring we can provide personalised care to even more people living with cancer. Thank you Dowson family!
We’d like to thank The Dowson’s for sharing their experience. The words used are preferred by them. Penny Brohn UK encourages everyone to use their own words to tell their story. If you have any questions about any of the language used, please email comms@pennybrohn.org.uk.
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