Not Just Travel agent to run 30th marathon in memory of daughter

A Not Just Travel homeworker will run the London Marathon on Sunday (April 26) to raise funds in memory of his daughter Phoebe-Lee, who was stillborn in December 2005.

 

It will be Lee Collier’s seventh London marathon and his 30th marathon overall.

 

He will be raising more money for Action Medical Research, which has been helping children and funding medical breakthroughs for more than 70 years, including research about stillbirths.

 

Lee took up running marathons and raising funds for the charity in 2008 as a way of paying tribute to Phoebe – and, so far, he has raised more than £26,000.

 

“I was 50 in November, Phoebe would have been 20 in December, and this will be my 30th marathon…they were nice round numbers, so it seemed quite fitting to go back to where it all began in 2008,” he said.

 

He said milestones that Phoebe would have passed over the years are particularly poignant but running has helped him to cope.

 

“When she would have turned 17, I could have taken her out for her first driving lesson,” he said.

 

“There are always day-to-day things that I will never do for her, as a dad, and that’s hard at times.

 

“Trying to raise a bit of money and awareness, that was enough to help.

 

“It is always there at the back of your mind, and losing Phoebe just before Christmas means Christmas is always a bit of a tricky time for me.

 

“Running is my escape – it is good for my mental health and I live in a nice part of the world here in Dorset. It is nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air.”

 

However, he faces a challenge as he hasn’t run a marathon since 2018 because he has been busy since joining the ambulance service in 2019 – and is nursing a calf injury.

 

Furthermore, he also juggles his ambulance shifts and agency role with being a professional photographer, which has taken him to many exotic locations, from Namibian deserts to the Great Wall of China on photoshoots.

 

Lee has also taken many photographs of TV star Davina McCall in her role as patron of Action Medical Research.

 

He did work experience at a travel agency in his hometown of Blandford – and also knows NJT co-founder Steve Witt from their school days.

 

Lee has taken photographs for NJT over the past decade at many overseas events and, just over two years ago, decided to become an agent with the franchise business.

 

“My long-term aim is to do more travel and reduce my hours with the ambulance service,” he said.

“Last year, I went to Turkey, Mauritius and the Bahamas, all with Not Just Travel.

 

“I sell everything and I love it – I genuinely really enjoy the research, finding the right hotel for the client.

 

“I enjoy the challenge of trying to solve that problem and having that personal connection.”

He has already raised £3,500 this year for the charity, with a golf day and quiz night, and now hopes to make it round the marathon route, despite his injury.

 

“If I can get round in one piece, then I will be very happy,” he said. 

 

For details of his fundraiser and to donate, click here.