Bereaved mum to run half marathon in memory of nine-year-old Jack

“He was my brave solider until the end - now he is my angel.”

Jack Moate lived with some 22 conditions and suffered from regular seizures. He was never able to sit, stand, walk or talk, and had to be fed by tube.

Despite those great difficulties he never stopped smiling and giving cuddles, exuding positivity until he sadly died on 21 November 2015, aged just nine.

Jack will no doubt be watching over his mum, Elizabeth, when she runs the Flaming June Half Marathon in his memory.

Elizabeth, 42, lives in Doddington with sons Harry, nine, and Ethan, six, both Lionel Warden Primary School pupils, and daughter Elizabeth, two.

East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) has supported the family through their tough times.

Jack, who attended Meadowgate School, had short breaks at the charity’s Milton hospice. It also helped provide end of life care before he died at home.

His brothers and sister have had bereavement counselling and benefit from attending special sibling events.

It is for those reasons that Elizabeth will run the half marathon, which takes place on Sunday, 4 June and starts at Histon & Impington Recreation Ground, in aid of EACH.

She said: “EACH has supported my family throughout Jack’s life and his passing, and still do today.

“Jack was nine and had a smile that could radiate any room. He was my world. He wasn’t meant to go when he did and I miss him sorely. He gave more to me and others in his short nine years than most people do in a lifetime.”

To show your support for Elizabeth, whose brother Steve will also raise money for EACH when he treks to Everest base camp in October, go to www.justgiving.com/Elizabeth-Moate.