50km in honour of Grandad

Monday 1 March 2021

Worthing schoolboy, Harrison Lillywhite, is celebrating after running 50km in memory of his Grandad, Terry Lillywhite – raising £600 for St Barnabas House who cared for him at the end of his life.

A pupil at Vale School in Worthing, 9-year-old Harrison says he took up the challenge at the beginning of January as he was “really missing school clubs and running around with friends.”

“I wanted to have something to focus on and set myself the challenge of running 50km by 31 January, which would have been Grandad Terry’s 62nd birthday” explains Harrison. “I decided to raise as much money as possible for St Barnabas House to say thank you for the care they gave Grandad before he died from lung cancer in July 2019.”

Determined to complete the challenge on his Grandad Terry’s birthday, Harrison braved freezing temperatures and wet weather throughout January, running alongside his Dad, Matthew, and other close family members.

“When I was running my last 4km on Grandad’s birthday, my mum and brother held up some tape for a finish line and I imagined seeing Grandad standing there, cheering me on,” says Harrison. “I think he would have been proud of me.”

Harrison had hoped to raise £100 for St Barnabas but thanks to an outpouring of support from friends and family, he’s smashed his target, raising an incredible £600 for local hospice care.

Harrison says, “I can’t believe it! I thought £100 was a lot to try and raise, so to have gone way over it I feel really happy. I even got a mention on TV last week as my Nanny nominated me for This Morning’s star of the week. It felt brilliant when Phil and Holly read my name out.”

“I would like to thank my family and friends for all their donations and sponsorships. But mostly I want to thank St Barnabas for all the support they gave to Grandad and to us as a family after he died.

“Everyone at the hospice helped to keep Grandad comfortable and stopped him being in pain. He loved eating jelly and ice-cream and they always had a steady supply for him!”

Claudia Pearce from the Community Fundraising team at St Barnabas House says, “Our heartfelt thanks to you Harrison – we hope you take great pride in knowing that your fundraising will mean that our doctors and nurses can be there to care for more people like your Grandad Terry.”

It’s not too late to sponsor Harrison. To show your support visit Harrison’s JustGiving page.