Marathon runner Isabel is raising funds for St Ann’s Hospice in memory of her dad

Isabel Maccabee from South Manchester is competing in the 2025 Manchester Marathon in memory of her dad, Paul. 

Paul spent his last few days at St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green in what Isabel has described as an “incredibly important week in her life”. Isabel is now raising funds for the hospice in the lead up to the marathon. 

The Manchester Marathon is one of the largest sporting events in the United Kingdom with over 36,000 runners expected to take part this year. 

“Running has always been a part of my life. This is an ultimate challenge for me. My dad ran a marathon at one point in his life and I think knowing that, I’ve always had it in my mind that I was going to run a marathon at some point in my life,” Isabel said. 

Isabel is proud to be from Manchester and says competing in the marathon on home soil is a brilliant experience. 

In a cathartic turn of events, the Manchester Marathon ends in a place that holds great meaning to both Isabel and her dad. 

“The last leg of the race is down Oxford Road, by the University of Manchester, which is where dad worked for years before he died. He project managed the creation of Brunswick Park where the finish line is at. It’s a great reminder on the day of what I’m running towards and for.” 

Paul was diagnosed with cancer a week before the first lockdown of the Covid-19 epidemic in March of 2020, he spent the next few months in and out of hospital during Covid and died at St Ann’s Hospice in September 2020. 

“For us, as a family, that week that he was here was so important because during those months, my mum, sister, and I were very much carers. We had a lot of special moments with him, of course, but it felt that we were nurses and every other role under the sun to meet his needs, and make him as comfortable as possible,” she said. 

“Particularly towards the end, we just couldn’t manage it anymore. We couldn’t have kept him home any longer, although we wanted to. Being in St Ann’s was such a relief because as soon as we got here, you could tell he was more relaxed as he was being treated in ways we weren’t able to. 

“I remember he was given a proper shave and looked after; he was a very ill man but he looked so much fresher and happier in that time,” she added. 

Isabel continued. “For us it took such a load off our backs with the thoughts of remembering medication, and everything else we needed to do for him because St Ann’s dealt with it all for us. 

“We were able to be there and talk to him or read stories to him when he couldn’t communicate back. That felt to us, as the best way it could have been in his final week, a horrific week in so many ways, but St Ann’s made it so much easier. 

“I think it is possible to have a good death, and I feel like that is what we managed to have here in this hospice, because they allowed us to take a step back and just be people,” Isabel said. 

In memory of her father, Isabel has set up a Just Giving page to fundraise for St Ann’s Hospice, if you would like to donate to Isabel’s cause, or to learn more about the reasons she is running the marathon, you can visit her page, here.