In a special fund-raising effort for Aquinoe, Dave Thompson, husband of trustee Jean, is taking part with his daughter Marie in the Great North Run half-marathon between Newcastle-on-Tyne and South Shields on September 18th.
Marie, who lives and works in Holland, is flying over for the event and the pair plan to run the 13 miles together.
Dave, 66, says: “It will be very nostalgic as Marie and her brother Chris spent their early years in the North-East in the late 1970s and 80s when I worked there as a journalist based in Newcastle. The finish line is just a few miles from where we lived.”
The pair have been lucky to get a place. Although there are over 54,000 runners each year, well over 100,000 apply to take part and Chris was in fact one of the unlucky ones. But like the rest of the family he’ll be supporting the venture and Jean is travelling north to witness the race first hand.
As ever, the event is live on TV which always vividly captures the colourful scenes as the runners stream over the Tyne Bridge on their way to the coast.
Marie, 34, a doctor in clinical psychology said: “Dad is training a bit more than I am at present so I may have to step up a gear!”
Dave has run two half-marathons near his home in Kent in the last 15 months but the Great North Run breaks new ground.
“We’re very excited,” he says. “I run at one pace and if I can beat 2 hours 20 minutes I would be very pleased. It’ll be a great experience.’
If anyone would like to sponsor the runners, they can do so via the PayPal button on this site.