Nottingham attacks victim Grace's mum cries along the way during half-marathon

Sinead O'Malley listened to one of her daughter's playlists as she took part in the Robin Hood Half Marathon

The parents of Grace O’Malley-Kumar were in attendance at the Robin Hood Half Marathon over the weekend along with 30 students to support her foundation. University of Nottingham student Grace was killed on June 13, 2023, by Valdo Calocane.

He also took the lives of 19-year-old student Barnaby Webber and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates. Following the tragic events of that day, Grace’s parents, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O’Malley, created the Grace O’Malley-Kumar Foundation to continue their daughter’s legacy.

Dr Kumar spent the event cheering on students and providing refreshments at the foundation’s stall. Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, he said: “Grace stood for inclusion, that was one of the big things about her, inclusion.

“She absolutely hated children being excluded. She also donated a lot of her time at hockey camps and she would be really pleased that we are bringing sport to the foundation.

“Everything that we are going to support in Grace’s name is going to be for wellness, for children, and for inclusion. Inclusion was her real passion.

“She was an England hockey player, she was a county cricket player, she was a real teammate. There are so many anecdotal stories about her helping people at university. We are here to support those who are running for the foundation.”

He explained that there were 30 students from the University of Nottingham taking part in the event for the foundation. Katie Curtis, 22, has since graduated but was a friend of Grace and was her hockey captain at the university.

She said: “It’s really nice just to be able to be here with everybody like this and everyone who knew Grace.” Katie explained that the foundation runners tried to stay as a group as much as possible during the race and crossed the finish line in two big groups to show unity.

She went on to explain that a lot of the runners played hockey with Grace, and that she hoped a lot of people would have seen the foundation and want to learn more about it.

Dr Kumar added that Grace “loved being at the University of Nottingham”. She added: “She would have become a doctor and then served the people of Nottingham.”

Grace’s mum Sinead O'Malley completed the half marathon in her daughter’s memory. She said: “It’s been really lovely to see so many of Grace’s friends from her home school and university and her hockey friends that have turned out to support the foundation.

“It’s been bitter-sweet, I cried along the way. I bumped into her friends, her hockey girls, and that was wonderful. I listened to her playlist and the tunes she loved whilst on the streets she loved.

“I’m proud of myself, I’ve done it for her, for her brother, for Sanjoy, her family and friends and the foundation.”