A DROITWICH man is set to run hundreds of miles along the River Severn over a few days to raise funds for a local hospice who cared for his father with ‘incredible compassion’ in his final days.
Joe Hemming, aged 32, will be running 220 miles from Llanidloes in Wales to Bristol in memory of his dad, army veteran Rob Hemming, who died in the care of St Richard’s Hospice on June 10, 2025 at age 72.
The dates of the run (June 5 to 10 2026) will mark exactly one year since Joe’s dad was taken into hospice care. He passed away just five days later after being diagnosed with terminal cancer around six months prior.
Joe’s planned route holds even more significance, with the journey being a nod to one of his dad Rob’s dying wishes – to have his ashes scattered in the River Salwarpe.
Rob, who was born and raised in Droitwich and loved the Salwarpe, wanted his ashes to drift into the Severn before heading out of the Bristol estuary and into the Atlantic, so he could ‘travel the world’.
The route will also take Joe through the heart of Worcestershire which has been the Hemming family’s home for many years. Joe’s mother, Jill, and father, Rob, were together over 40 years. Their 40th wedding anniversary would have been June 17, 2025.
Joe, who is also a veteran and now works in recruitment, told the Standard: “I wanted to honour that timeline by running over those exact dates, ending the challenge on the anniversary of his passing.
“It’s going to be physically and emotionally tough, but it’s my way of saying thank you.”
St Richard’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care for adults with serious progressive illnesses, offering support not only to the patient but also to loved ones. Their services include pain management, emotional and spiritual support, and bereavement care.
Joe added: “The hospice looked after my dad – and our whole family – when we needed it most.
“They do amazing work every single day, and they rely heavily on fundraising to keep going.”
While Joe will be running the majority of the route alone, he has enlisted the support of his mother and younger sister Amelia, who is one of Joe’s three siblings including two sisters and a brother, to follow along to help with logistics and resupplying.
Amelia, her partner and Joe’s friend from the army will also be joining parts of the run and the veteran is also putting out an open invite to anyone who wants to run alongside him at any point in the journey.
He said he is happy for anyone to get involved. If it’s running a marathon distance or just a few miles for your own cause or even supportiing Joe’s, he wants to hear from you.
And this is not the first time Joe has ran for a cause close to his heart. A couple of years ago, Joe and his partner, Joanne’s baby passed away. He was inspired to run two ultra-marathons and three marathons to raise funds for Tommy’s Baby Charity – helping to bring in around £900 for the cause. Now he hopes to raise at least £1,000 for St Richard’s Hospice, having brought in £500 already.
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/joe-hemming-3 to donate. Email [email protected] to enquire about running alongside Joe.
