Father and daughter team run Brighton Half Marathon together in memory of loved ones

Cassie Hayward-Tapp, 26, lives in Southover High Street and works at Southover Church of England Primary School. She decided to run the half marathon in memory of family friend and teaching assistant Liz Thomas.

Ms Thomas passed away in September last year after battling cancer and Cassie will be fundraising for St Peter and St James Hospice who cared for Liz towards the end of her life.

“St Peter and St James Hospice provided such invaluable care for Liz and so I am running the Brighton Half Marathon in her memory and to raise money for the hospice so that their incredible work can continue,” Cassie said.

However, when Cassie started training, she experienced wolf-whistling and cat-calling and as a result, Cassie’s father Simon Hayward-Tapp, a retired BBC executive, decided to train and run with her.

“One evening after a dusk run Cassie came home distressed having been wolf-whistled and shouted at by idiots in cars,” Simon said.

“I suggested that maybe I might run with her sometimes to eliminate the risk of that happening again - who’s going to wolf whistle me?

“Since then I have in effect been training with her.”

The duo have raised more than £1,650 between them - beating their fundraising targets.

Simon is fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Society as his late mother lived with Dementia for eight years.

“On Sunday (February 15) we ran our longest distance - eight miles in one hour 40 minutes,” he said.

“Not bad for a 26-year-old who has never done much running before or for a 60-year-old with previously prolapsed discs and a heart condition!

“Completion time is not important: getting to the end is what matters.”

St Peter and St James Hospice is a charity providing end of life care for people in Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Lewes, and Uckfield.

The Alzheimer’s Society is a national charity funding research into a cure and supporting people living with dementia.

Simon’s fundraising page can be found on JustGiving here and Cassie’s fundraising page can be found here.