A MAN will be taking on his third London Marathon in honour of his grandad who was diagnosed with bone cancer.
Elliott Smart, 27, from Weymouth, chose to complete this year’s marathon to raise money for Bone Cancer Research Trust after his grandad Richard was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease.
He has nine weeks to reach a fundraising target of £2,500 before he reaches joins the thousands of runners on the start line in the capital on Sunday, April 21.
Elliott says he signed up last minute to take part and is excited to run to raise awareness and funds in honour of such an important figure in his life.
He said: “He’s always been a happy go lucky person. He always will help out where he can and is very supportive of anything that people will do. Also, he’s been like a father figure for me – he’s been both a grandad and a dad.
“When I told him I was doing it, it made him smile and perked him up. It would make him really happy. He’s adamant he’s going to be around to watch me complete the London marathon or watch it from the TV.”
The Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) is a charity dedicated to fighting primary bone cancer. The charity funds research raises awareness of the disease and provides support services to patients.
Having run the London Marathon twice in the past for charity, Elliott isn’t nervous about the training but is excited to trying to raise as much as possible for a charity close to his heart.
“I’ve done the London Marathon twice in the past for charity. I raised money for Sense - The National Deafblind and Rubella Association and the disabled charity Enham Trust. This is my third time doing it, but this was more last minute as in previous years I had more time to raise the funds.
“We have to reach £2,500 but raising anything over that amount would be amazing. A big thank you to the people who have donated already. It’s going to help me along the way and it’s going towards helping an amazing charity which is close to my heart.”
You can donate to Elliott's charity by visiting his JustGiving link: http://tinyurl.com/bdcrhudy
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