Just one month to go until the Great Birmingham Half Marathon

Every year Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity has one of the biggest charity teams at the Great Birmingham Half Marathon. With just four weeks to go, the charity shines a spotlight on three of its kind-hearted runners who are tackling the pavement to do more for its sick kids. 

Local dad, Lee Gibbs from Kings Norton is conquering the 13-mile challenge to say thank you for the care his daughter, seven-month-old Brooke, receives at the children’s hospital. 

At their 19-week scan, Mum, Laura, and Dad, Lee, were told their baby would be born with a complex heart condition. Baby Brooke was born in February with a condition called double inlet left ventricle – a heart defect that affects the valves and chambers of the heart. At just one-day-old she was transferred from Birmingham Women’s Hospital to the children’s hospital for specialist treatment. Dad, Lee, said: “Brooke’s heart condition will affect her for her whole life - she will need multiple operations and on-going care. Since the day she was born, Birmingham Children’s Hospital has been with us every step of the way, and will be for the next 18 years.    

“They are just amazing, not only for the life-changing care they provide to Brooke, but for the support they give to her mum, Laura, and I, too. They have been through all of the highs and all of the lows with us and fundraising for the charity is our way of saying thank you.

“My training is going really well and I’m already running the distance, so I’m feeling pretty confident about the day itself. Every time a run is tough, or I don’t want to train, I just think of Brooke and the hospital, and all the other children and families the money I raise will go onto help.”