Wellington couple's London Marathon bid in memory of much-loved Telford barber Auryel

David and Nicola Butmaro are running the marathon in memory of David's father Auryel.

And estate agent boss Patrick Smitheman was happy to support their effort as he knows all about the demands of the world famous run, himself, having run it in 2019.

So when he was approached for sponsorship, he didn't hesitate. Patrick, managing director of Harwood The Estate Agents, based in their Broseley branch, has donated £260 or £10 for every mile to the couple, who will be competing in this year’s run on April 23.

In return for his sponsorship, David, 44, and Nicola, 35, will have Harwood’s logo on their running vests during the marathon.

Nicola, from Wellington: “We have had a really good relationship with Pat over the last six years when we have bought and sold properties through his business.

“And he didn’t hesitate in donating to our just giving page when we told him we were running in memory of Auryel,who sadly passed away last September after a short, intense and difficult battle with pancreatic cancer.

“Auryel, who was also known as Alan, was a Ketley man, loved by many and a very well-respected pillar of the community.

"He founded and owned Alan’s Barbers in Telford and it remains in that name today although he sold the business back in 2018.

“He never complained, battled on with conviction and fought with every ounce of his being.

"He was so resilient. As his condition worsened, he chose to stay at Severn Hospice in Telford.

"We didn’t know what to expect from a hospice, but every single member of the staff was so warm and welcoming to both him and our family.

"They allowed us to watch every single Arsenal game in his room and also allowed his beloved dog Poppy to visit him.

“Auryel was given his smile back and, on his 70th birthday, the hospice had prepared everything to allow him to come home and be with his family. This meant the world to him and all his adoring family

“Words cannot fully describe the gratitude we all feel towards the hospice and its staff and we have pledged to raise funds and awareness to show our gratitude.”

Nicola added: “To try and show our immense gratitude to the hospice we have pledged to raise £10,000 to support this amazing charity. The hospice has selected us to run for them.

"As a couple of non-runners, running 26.2 miles will be a huge challenge and alongside Harwood’s sponsorship we have also contacted other local businesses to obtain their support. We would so much appreciate any other business that can reach out and help such a worthy cause. This can be either in the form of donations or pledging items that we can use for a charity auction event which we will hold around March.”

Nicola can be contacted at nicolabutmaro@gmail.com for donations of non-monetary items.

Patrick sad: “I am, as ever, blessed to be still in the position to support this lovely couple, who, as often is the case, just want to say thank you and give something back to the wonderful people, often unsung, who are there to support people when they most need it. I may even clean up my running shoes and go out with them on a training run.”

David and Nicola’s progress can be tracked at justgiving.com/fundraising/runningforauryel.