Sue Ham, from Poole will be running 26.2 miles tomorrow (April 8) around her local area in memory of daughter Sophie. She will be raising vital funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK.
Sue’s touching marathon will take place on what would have been daughter Sophie's 30th birthday and Sue will complete her challenge wearing purple and sparkles- Sophie's two favourite things. 
The Ham family stayed in Ronald McDonald House Southampton in 2002 when the Charity provided family rooms based within the hospital and were able to be close to Sophie and care for her at such a difficult time. Now a 52 bedroom house,situated within minutes walk of the children’s ward, it helps provide a safe comfortable place to call home for more families to be close to their child’s bedside when they are receiving the care they need in Southampton hospital.
Of her support for Ronald McDonald House Charities UK Sue said:
‘When we stayed at Ronald McDonald House Southampton the Charity only had rooms by the PICU unit which were amazing. For me as a Christian it was like God giving us a sanctuary to help deal with what was happening to Sophie. Because of these rooms as a family (as Sophie has 2 brothers) we were able to spend quality time with Sophie in her last hours. We didn’t have to worry about where we could leave our things or where to go if needing a short break. Friends that came to see Sophie in those last 48 hours were also well looked after. We have never forgotten how much this helped us.’
Ronald McDonald House Southampton is just one of the twelve Houses across the UK situated in or near hospital grounds to enable seriously ill children to have their families close by when they are undergoing treatment and to maintain a degree of normal family life.
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sue-ham-rmhc for more information of the virtual marathon event and to make a donation.