Christine Lawrence from Shepton Mallet is running the Bath Half Marathon 2025 for RUHX, to say thank you for the care she and her son received in the Maternity Ward and the Neonatal Unit at the Royal United Hospitals Bath.
“I’m really excited to be running for such a great cause. Everyone has been so incredible during mine and my son’s care.”
“I want to show my eternal gratitude and support to all the staff within the hospital. Raising money for RUHX by challenging myself seems the best way to do it. Without the care and help I received I may not have been here to run my way to this goal. The RUH has taken me from being very poorly to motivating me to be healthy and fit enough to tackle this challenge.”
Christine became a patient at the RUH at 32 weeks pregnant with her son when she developed acute pancreatitis due to sludge gallstones. Her baby was delivered by C section at 35 weeks because the pancreatitis meant he had stopped growing.
They had multiple visits to the RUH after his birth due to low weight gain, and when he contracted bronchiolitis and stopped breathing. Christine then had her gallbladder removed when her baby was just six weeks old.
“The least I can do as a way of saying thank you to RUH for saving both mine and my baby’s life is to get my health on track, run a half marathon and raise a little money for them in the process.
“This is my first half marathon. I’m pretty nervous but I have previously run a 5K and 10k before having children, and after the birth of my son and gallbladder removal I then took part in my local Shepton Mallet Parkrun to try and get my health back on track.
“My training is going fairly well so far. It can be tricky to find the time in between childcare, work and daily tasks! I recently completed my first 10 mile run from Shepton to Wells and back and my goodness did I ache the day after. I learnt a lot about myself on that run and I really felt for the first time that a half marathon is achievable.”
To support Christine with her fundraising, please visit https://bathhalf2025.enthuse.com/pf/chrstine-lawrence
RUHX is the local lead charity at the Bath Half Marathon 2025 and is looking for volunteers to join their cheer squad at the event. Contact email hidden; JavaScript is required to get involved.
