Northumbria Police officer to run seven marathons in a week
- Published
PC Ian Milbourne is raising money for a charity that supports children like his son, Cameron
A police officer is planning to run seven marathons in seven days to raise money for children with a rare genetic condition.
Northumbria Police PC Ian Milbourne is supporting a charity for children with trichothiodystrophy (TTD).
He said, when his son Cameron, 11, was diagnosed, only 200 children in the world were known to have the condition.
"I'm looking forward to doing the marathons although I know it's going to be tough," PC Milbourne said.
"The hardest part so far has been going out and training on my own so often."
The money raised will go to the charity Amy and Friends, which helps children with TTD.
Cameron needs to travel to London for treatment "and obviously it's a really long way from where we are", PC Milbourne said.
"The charity I'm running for was instrumental in setting up that clinic and we have to get back and forth. They help with that," he said.
Running for charity
TTD is a rare genetic condition that can cause learning disability and delayed development and children can die as young as three.
"And Cameron is now eleven - so he's doing really well," PC Milbourne said.
"It is really hard because the condition is terminal and there is no cure for it so we don't know how long we've got with him."
Since his son's diagnosis, PC Milbourne has raised thousands of pounds for Amy and Friends by running.
"The choice for this year's challenge was to either do the marathons or jump out of a plane, so I was happy to do the running," said PC Milbourne.
"Anything I can do to support Amy and Friends I will consider, because it's been such an amazing support to our family and so many others."
PC Milbourne's challenge will start on Monday and end the following Sunday at Ashington Cricket Club.
His route will take him through Wylam, Newcastle and Gateshead.
He has previously raised more than £5,500 by running 30 half-marathons in 30 days. He is hoping to raise £7,000 through his latest challenge.
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