Dad to run London Marathon with eight weeks training for ill son

Ross Jeavons is running the marathon with just eight weeks of training

The father of a baby with a rare condition is to run the London Marathon after just eight weeks of training.

Ross Jeavons' son Corey, aged 7 months, has a condition which means his oesophagus and stomach were not connected and could not swallow.

Charity TOFS, which supports children with the condition, put out a plea for a runner after a last-minute injury.

"It seemed like fate," said the dad-of-two from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.

Corey was born with tracheo-oesophageal fistula (TOF), which is an abnormal connection between the oesophagus and trachea, and long gap oesophageal atresia, which means his oesophagus was not connected to his stomach.

Life for Mr Jeavons, 36, and his wife Katie has been a non-stop balance of looking after their two-year-old son Callum, managing Corey's care, and working.

Corey was born with a rare condition that means his stomach and oesophagus were not connected at birth

Eight weeks ago TOFS appealed for a last minute marathon runner to help fundraise for them, and Mr Jeavons said his first thought was "no chance".

Before Corey was born he used to run often and ran the London Marathon in October last year, but he had not run regularly since just before his son's birth in February.

He said: "I know how hard it is to do a marathon, know how much you need to train.

"Last year I'd had about two years of training because of the cancellations with Covid, and you need to be really fit.

"But my wife said to me 'it seems like fate' and I thought 'yeah, it is'."

However, he said that after his offer was accepted he started "panicking, thinking what have I done?".

Ross used to run as a hobby but has not run regularly since Corey was born

Half of Corey's life has been spent in hospital and throughout much of the last six weeks he has been at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, which has become Mr Jeavons' main training ground by default.

Although a little nervous of the challenge the marathon presents, he said it had been a "positive focus" for the whole family which had helped at "such a horrific time".

He hopes to break the charity's fundraising record of £7,000 to help other children and adults with the conditions and their families.

"We can do something special to help children like Corey and adults like him and create help for a better future," he said.

Baby Corey has spent half his life in hospital getting treatment and surgery

Complications from the latest surgery mean Corey and Mrs Jeavons are likely to miss going to watch the marathon in person, but the hope is family and friends can be there to cheer Ross along the way.

Coverage of the London Marathon starts on BBC Two on Sunday at 08:30 BST and then switches to BBC One at 09:25.