Wiltshire dad takes on six marathons in memory of son

Frank Lee (pictured third from the left, in pink t-shirt) with his friends after doing the Berlin Marathon

A man is planning to run in the "world's six major marathons" to help fund research into curing brain cancer.

Frank Lee's son, Frank James, died aged 15 after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour.

Mr Lee, 43, from Royal Wootton Bassett, has already run two of the marathons in London and Berlin.

He has raised nearly £15,000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity. His next race will be in Japan followed by races in Chicago, Boston and New York.

Frank James suffered an unexpected seizure, falling unconscious in his bedroom in 2017 and was then rushed to Oxford for emergency surgery.

The type of tumour he had carries a prognosis of just 12 to18 months.

For two years, he had operations including radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Frank James died two months later.

Frank Lee with his son Frank James. He was a sporty teenager, who used to play for the Royal Wootton Bassett U18s football team

"We looked at clinical trials and tried to get Frank on one of those but the criteria was strict," explained Mr Lee.

"We went from knowing nothing about the disease, to watching our son, our pride and joy, become a statistic of a disease that kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer."

Mr Lee, who also has three daughters, is hoping his next marathon will be in Tokyo.

The Abbott World Marathon Majors challenge involves completing six set marathons including London, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago, Boston and New York.

Frank Lee is hoping to join 11,000 other runners who have already got a "Six Star Medal" since the challenge started in 2016

He took up running as a way to channel his grief: "Training for one marathon is all-consuming.

"It requires discipline, a whole adaption to the way you live your life for months at a time, as well as huge mental fitness and I wouldn't have been able to get through that without my best friends.

"I have never been more ready to run another four marathons as I am today.

"I want to keep Frank's memory alive and by doing that, I hope we can save other young lives from this devastating disease."

The Brain Tumour Research charity said one in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour and that only 12% of those diagnosed survive beyond five years compared with an average of 54% across all cancers.

The organisation is pushing the call for a national annual spend of £35m into brain tumour research.

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