A DEDICATED Weymouth couple will run this year’s London Marathon for a children’s charity close to their hearts.

Colin Bailey, 44, and wife Jayne, 41 have signed up to the marathon many times but have not been successful until this year.

The couple have two children, 12-year-old Jack who is at All Saints School and Rhys, 10, who has a disability and goes to Westfield Arts College in Weymouth.

Rhys has a condition called agenesis of the corpus callosum, where the two hemispheres of the brain struggle to connect with one another.

Colin and Jayne are running the marathon to raise money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, a charity which aims to brighten the lives of seriously ill children.

Colin said: “Starlight has helped us and Rhys immensely, and have allocated us a place to run and raise funds which we are more than happy to do.

“Jayne and I have always wanted to run for a charity and are always active running, cycling or swimming.”

Jayne, who works at Dorset County Hospital, added that Starlight is also a sponsor of the Children’s Ward.

She said: “Rhys’s disability is so rare and the conditions range from mild symptoms to severe life limiting symptoms.

“It’s the thought of what he’s been through in life with his disability that gets us running.

“It’s a struggle to get the training in without impacting on the children but we run five days a week with a longer run on Sundays.”

Starlight chief executive Neil Swan said: “We’ve got to know Colin, Jayne and the family well and have granted a wish of a lifetime for their son Rhys to go to Disneyland Paris.

“Last year, they joined us at a unique Starlight escape day for poorly children and their families at Popham airfield too.

“We’re immensely grateful to both Colin and Jane for choosing Starlight and we wish them luck in their training, fundraising and on the day itself.”

This year’s London Marathon is on Sunday, April 13. For information or to make a donation visit virginmoneygiving.com/team/baileylondon2014