A brother and sister duo are running the London Marathon on April 23 to raise funds for the charity which cared for their father in his final weeks.

Charlotte Jones and Nick Burn, who are owners of the Boswell’s coffee shop chain, are running in memory of their father, Jeremy, who received end-of-life care from Sue Ryder in South Oxfordshire before he died in 2012.

Jeremy and his father founded Boswell’s in 1972 and the family-run business now operates 18 cafes across the South East, including in Reading, Newbury and Didcot.

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Charlotte, who lives in Kidmore End, said: “Dad’s diagnosis of incurable pancreatic cancer was very sudden, and it was a horrible time, but he was very well looked after by the whole team at Sue Ryder.”

“We were so impressed with the level of care that the Sue Ryder nurses gave him, which ensured he was comfortable in those last few weeks.

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“He also had his beloved dog, Boris, by his side, which meant a lot to him.

“More recently, in December 2021, Sue Ryder also provided care and support to my mother-in-law, Sheila.

“Sheila was with living with us and the nurses from Sue Ryder Palliative Care Hub South Oxfordshire were fantastic in the care they gave to her at home, as well as guidance and support for us in those final days.”

To give back and say thank you for the care their loved ones have received, Charlotte and Nick decided to sign up to run the London Marathon for Sue Ryder.

Charlotte has already run the marathon once before.

Nick said: “I don’t think we will be running together on the day.”

“This is my first ever marathon and I should be so lucky if I can keep up with her!

“Training has been going well though, we are following training plans and one day a week when we are working in the office, we make sure to go out for a run together.”

To boost their fundraising, Charlotte and Nick held a special charity ‘sports day’ at the Boswell’s café in Didcot on Saturday 15 April which was given a Sue Ryder makeover with balloons and bunting and saw staff don sportswear for the day.

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Nick said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to our staff and loyal customers who came along to our fundraising day in Didcot and donated so generously to this fantastic cause, which has supported our family but also many hundreds of other families in our local community and across the UK.

“We will be holding further Sue Ryder sports days at all 18 of our locations on Saturday 22 April - the weekend of the marathon.

“They will be decorated in Sue Ryder branding and staff will hold fun competitions, tombolas and raffles to raise awareness and as much money as possible for this fantastic charity.

“We would be very grateful for any donations – big or small – towards our fundraising total.”

Nick and Charlotte have currently raised over £7,000 for Sue Ryder’s palliative care and bereavement support.

To donate to their fundraising total, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/charlotte-jones148 or https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nick-burn-1.