TEACHER Simon Rule will be running the London Marathon in aid of the baby charity Tommy’s.

The dad-of-two, who is head of maths at Sir John Colfox School in Bridport, has supported the cause ever since his first child was stillborn.

He and his wife Helen have since had two daughters who attend St Osmund’s Middle School in Dorchester.

Mr Rule, 43, said he supported Tommy’s because it researched the causes and was trying to reduce the instances of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.

He said: “Although we now have two healthy daughters, now nearly aged 11 and 10, we know that other couples are less fortunate.

“When it happened to us it was our first baby and you have so many hopes and then it just gets taken away from you.

“In our case there was a post-mortem and there was no cause found, which was very frustrating.

“We were lucky that we had a healthy daughter 18 months later but all the way through the pregnancy you are worrying about it so it’s not the same.

“Tommy’s does get a lot of support but it is still a relatively small charity compared to some of the others and it relies on donations, so it needs all the help it can get.

“It’s one of those things that you don’t think about unless it happens to you.”

Mr Rule and his family moved to Dorset from Swindon in September.

He said: “Training for the marathon has been a great way to get to know the area around our new home in Dorchester.

“Long Sunday runs to Puddletown, Abbotsbury, Weymouth and Sydling St Nicholas certainly beat the treadmill, with the added bonus of spotting some local wildlife.”

This will be Mr Rule’s first race in London but he did complete the New York City Marathon in 2006, finishing in three hours and 56 minutes.

He added: “I hope to finish inside four hours again.”

To sponsor Mr Rule visit justgiving.com/Simon-Rule