For the hundreds who race in memory of loved ones, completing the Great North Run can be a deeply emotional experience.
But for Hannah Gibbs, crossing the famous starting line will be even more poignant, as she'll do it exactly one year to the day since she lost her beloved mum.
Rebecca Gorton, 49, from Cramlington, had endured a "long and hard battle" with skin cancer when, in August 2021, she went into hospital for a planned blood transfusion. But medics unexpectedly discovered her condition had deteriorated - with her illness so bad that she never managed to come home.
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For Rebecca's children Hannah, 21, James, 11, and Christopher, 19, and their dad Richard, the sudden loss came as a huge shock. But thanks to the tireless work of staff at St Oswald's Hospice in Gosforth, they were at least able to say a proper goodbye.
Now, Hannah plans to raise money for the hospice by taking on the famous half marathon, which this year falls on September 11 - the first anniversary of Rebecca's death.
The midwifery student said: "St Oswald's was absolutely fantastic, I couldn't fault them at all. I actually had Covid at the time and so I honestly thought I wasn't going to see her again.
"But her room opened onto a nice garden area so I would go around the back in full PPE, so I didn't put any of the other patients at risk. It just meant that I could see her - it was a small thing, but it was huge.
"That genuine act of humanity and kindness, as well as the care they showed for my mum, was beyond anything I could imagine and I’ll always be so grateful to them."
The run will be a fitting tribute to Rebecca, who Hannah described as "the bravest, most determined person I have ever met". A fundraising page set up to collect donations in Rebecca's name has already collected over £1,300, while younger brother James plans to raise yet more money by taking on the Junior Great North Run.
Hannah said she believes Rebecca would have been "really proud" of the family's efforts in her memory.
Paying tribute to her beloved mum, she added: "She was absolutely hilarious, she would come out with these stories and you'd think 'what on earth are you talking about?'. We used to describe her as 'a little bit right and a little bit wrong about everything'.
"She was also incredibly dedicated in everything she did. She went out and got her degree when my brother and I were just five and three, she was the first person in her family to do that and she was on her own with us but she managed to do it with two really young children.
"When she lost her mum and dad in 2014 she decided to do the Great North Run for them. She was very much like me, she couldn't run for anything, but she did it and she did it twice - if she put her mind to something she would do it and she would excel at it."
Unstoppable Rebecca refused to let her illness define her and never gave up on life, even applying for and getting a promotion at her job, with HMRC, from her hospital bed at the end of her life. Her "determination" is what Hannah hopes will inspire her to make it across the finish line come September.
"She was amazing, just fantastic," she added.
Hannah is raising money for St Oswald's Hospice at https://www.gofundme.com/f/memory-of-rebecca-cecilia-gorton
