A nurse from Newquay completed the London Marathon raising £3,229 for a charity that aims to improve the way patients and their loved ones spend their last days together.

Kirsty Dickens, a palliative and end of life clinical nurse at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, ran the 26.2 miles in aid of the Butterly Fund on Sunday, April 27.

She said: “This marathon was the start of my running journey.

“I entered the London marathon and was lucky enough to be granted a place through our Royal Cornwall Hospital Charity.

“I didn’t feel prepared at all, but I gave it my best shot.

“I completed the run in five hours 43 minutes.

“Although truthfully the time doesn’t matter to me, I started it and I did it! I ran with some beautiful, amazing and inspirational people and the atmosphere was incredible.

“I completed the London Marathon 2025 along with 56,640 others, it was the 45th year anniversary and we beat the Guinness world record for the most marathon finishers.

“Our palliative and end of life team at Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust see directly where that money can make a difference.

“It truly is a wonderful cause and an honour to work in such a wonderful team.

“Our team feel passionate and committed in our roles and we support families throughout the county. It is an honour to be able to support and care for our patients and their families at this very difficult time. We strive to continually develop our service in order to achieve outstanding individualised care throughout a patient's journey at various stages of their disease trajectory including end of life.

“Thanks to kind and generous supporters the palliative care and end of life team are able to purchase additional equipment, improve and enhance environments used for patients at end of life, provide some added home comforts and in some cases make a 'Rainbow Day' happen where we are able to meet a patient’s special wishes and make memories for them and their loved ones.”