Half Marathon for Kelsey Davidson

February 2020

Half Marathon for Kelsey Davidson

Aisha Preece met Kelsey Davidson at a mutual friend’s wedding in New Zealand and they became best friends almost immediately. After Kelsey’s sudden death to meningococcal meningitis, Aisha decided to run a half marathon in her honour…

“In 2019, I was asked to speak at a conference and I included Kelsey in my slides as one of my biggest inspirations. After my conference, I tried to call Kelsey but she didn’t pick up. I assumed she was busy. The next morning, I received a flood of messages asking me if I was okay and to confirm if it was true that Kelsey had died. Confident it was a scam, I messaged Kelsey saying, “Someone hacked your FB account claiming you are dead. I’ll text your mum so she won’t get alarmed.” I messaged her mum and received a call that would change my whole life. 

“Her mum calmly told me that Kelsey had woken up with a sore throat, and started feeling feverish. She deteriorated over the next few hours and was admitted to the hospital. The doctors discovered she had contracted a bacterial infection, a seemingly unknown but deadly disease called “meningococcal”. The bacteria spread rapidly and Kelsey was gone within 12 hours of waking up with a sore throat. A once living, breathing person full of life was now replaced by a gaping silent hole in my heart.

“I have felt a series of emotions since my best friend died. Pure grief and sadness, but also anger. Anger that there wasn’t more awareness of this deadly disease. I wanted others to know more about it, so Kelsey’s death would not be in vain. I decided to run a half marathon and raise funds in Kelsey’s honour.

“I ran the half marathon and dedicated it to Kelsey and her vibrant, loving memory. I raised 530 Euros, 30 Euros over my initial target. Running the half-marathon was tough. I didn’t have much training but in the last few kilometres, I imagined Kelsey cheering me on. She was always my biggest cheerleader. In the end, I cried with relief that it was over, but it was also some form of closure. This vicious disease snatches lives with a ferocious rapidness that doesn’t even leave you time to say goodbye.”

Aisha’s full story can be read here.