Pamber Heath father's marathon run

Charity to grant a Florida holiday wish for his son who has Leukaemia

A FATHER from Pamber Heath has run a half-marathon in support of a charity that is granting a wish for his son who has leukaemia.

Wayne Hunter, aged 45, ran the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon on Sunday October 9, to raise funds for the Starlight Children's Foundation, which grants wishes for children with serious and life-limiting illnesses and provides entertainment in hospitals and hospices across the UK.

Now his family is looking forward to a holiday in Florida, something Mr Hunter's seven-year-old son William, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, has always wished for.

Mr Hunter said that William has always dreamed of visiting Universal Studios there.

So William's father completed the 13.1-mile run through four of London's Royal Parks – Hyde Park, St James' Park, Kensington Gardens and Green Park. He raised about £600 for the charity and got a hug from William at the after-party in Knightsbridge.

Mr Hunter said: “It was so busy at the finish line we couldn't meet up there.”

William's dream is about to be fulfilled and Mr Hunter and his wife Vicki, and William and his nine-year-old sister Jessica are jetting off for two weeks to the sunshine state, home of Disney World and Harry Potter Theme World. They will be joined on the visit by the family of a friend that William made while undergoing hospital treatment, who shared the same dream – Ryan Edworthy, also aged seven, from Bordon.

Mr Hunter said: “Both families are going together.

“It will be nice to go, we have not been able to take

family holidays together because William has been in

and out of hospital so much.”

A previous competitor in the Reading Half Marathon, Mr Hunter said that he ran around Tadley and Pamber Heath to keep fit, but that his Sunday venture was the longest distance he had tackled so far.