A DAWLISH man who was unsuccessful in his attempt to enter this year's London Marathon ran one of his own to raise money for the John Parkes Unit at Torbay Hospital – and raised £750.
Ian Hill's application to run in London was turned down and it was then that he came up with the idea of running from the Torbay unit to Dawlish and back again – the same distance as a marathon – and ran it on April 18.
Mr Hill's four-year-old son, Daniel, who has cerebral palsy, attends the centre which cares for children with special needs.
Joining Mr Hill on his run was Richard Taylor, who he had been training with for 10 months.
Mr Hill said: 'It all went really well with loads of generous businesses in the town donating some money.
'On the day of the run I found it quite hard and it was Richard who really helped keep me going. I felt like I was going to cramp up a couple of times, but taking energy drinks sorted that out.
'When I actually saw the finish line, it was a great relief.'
Mr Hilll's route took him from the John Parkes Unit to Coffinswell, to Milber, along the river to Shaldon, then across the bridge and along the coast to Dawlish. It took four hours. The weather was changeable during his run and there were a couple of heavy showers and it was breezy.
'I would say that this was more of a challenge than the London Marathon due to all of the hills we had to run up. In London, the course is more or less flat,' he said.
Bridgette McDonald, Daniel's physiotherapist, who has been treating him since he was 18 months old, accepted the £750 cheque and said: 'I would like to thank Ian and Richard for running as they did and raising money.
'We have many children coming every week to the unit and we are very grateful for the donation.'
Mr Hill thanked the Gazette, Ace Cleaning, Dawlish Lodge, Terry Else, of Kudos, and Paul and Heather Jury.