It took all of five days for the 28-year-old to get from Hackney to a very special seaside bench in Bournemouth!
But it was all for a good cause — raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.
“It was worth every single stride,” she says. “The run was an incredible five days ending in Bournemouth on Granddad’s birthday, sitting at his favourite bench on the seafront.”
Issy’s granddad Ivor — himself a running coach in his younger days — was diagnosed with dementia in 2023 and now lives in a Bournemouth care home with his wife Janet.
He regularly sat at a bench by Boscombe Pier with a cup of tea before moving into the care home, which is what made the spot is so special.
Issy, whose day job is digital content creator, ran the London Marathon back in April, raising £2,500, and more recently taking on the Berlin Marathon, with her total tally reaching £4,000.
Her route down to Devon took her from Hackney to Guildford, through Winchester, Lyndhurst and Christchurch before reaching her granddad’s favourite bench in Bournemouth, with her brother Broughton joining for the last lap.
“I don’t get to see Granddad that often due to the distance to Bournemouth,” Issy explained once she caught her breath. “So it was special to get to see him in his favourite spot and wish him a happy birthday.
“But the work the Alzheimer’s Society does for people living with dementia is invaluable.”
Issy comes from a ‘long running’ family of avid runners. Her granddad used to coach her aunt and mother.
Dementia is Britain’s biggest killer with one in three people born in the UK developing it in their lifetime, the Alzheimer’s Society points out.
The charity’s Alex Hyde Smith said: “Issy is helping raise awareness and funds with her incredible challenge that will make a difference to the lives of people with dementia.”
Nearly a million people live with dementia in the UK. The society provides them with support as well as funds for research and campaigns to make it a priority.
