Ten-year-old Imogen in 800 mile fundraiser in her mum's memory
A schoolgirl is walking from one end of the UK to the other without leaving her home-town to raise money for the charity that cared for her mother.
Imogen Leith, or Immy as she is known, is just 10 years old, but she is not letting her age or lockdown beat her and is determined to finish her marathon.
She is walking some 874 miles – the distance from Land’s End to John o’ Groats – and is well on course with 683 miles still to go.
Her mother Kerry died last June after being diagnosed with mouth cancer.
She was cared for by members of Severn Hospice’s Hospice at Home and Outreach teams who allowed the family to spend precious time together during Kerry’s final days.
Immy started racking up the distance last month and has already walked more than 180 miles around her home town of Bridgnorth.
The Castlefields Primary School youngster is joined on her walks either by her father Richard or her brother Josh and sister Rebecca.
“After Kerry died, Immy said she wanted to do a challenge and raise money for the hospice,” said Richard. “I said she should decide what she wanted to do, never imagining it would be the Land’s End to John o’ Groats journey. But she was determined, a trait she shares with Kerry, and that was it.
“So, we began our walks in January and haven’t looked back. I usually go with her but other times it is friends or family. There is always someone with her, but she never needs encouraging to keep going. In fact, she encourages me. She tells me ‘Come on dad, just one more mile’.
“We walk around Bridgnorth and I’m now discovering bits of the area I never knew were there. We have the best time, walking, talking, and laughing. There are no phones, just us and it is wonderful.
“We are forever indebted to Severn Hospice for the care and love they gave to Kerry. It is a debt we can never repay, but we will do what we can to let them know how grateful we are for their support. They made an enormous difference to me and Kerry and the children, they allowed us to be a family at an exceedingly difficult time and without them our memories would be vastly different.”
Jess Druce, the hospice’s area fundraiser said: “Support such as Immy’s is so important to us, particularly in the moment and she is an absolute star for deciding to walk so far.
“She has done so well and has shown real determination and we wish her well with the rest of her challenge. Thank you so much Immy, your whole family must be so proud of you and we are too.”
Anyone who wants to support Immy can donate to her JustGiving page at justgiving.com/fundraising/imogen-leith3
