Lincolnshire man completes London Marathon in memory of his mum

Daniel Riches, 39, took on his first ever 26.2 mile marathon - crossing the finish line in a time of 4hrs:29m:39s.

His efforts have raised more than £3,400 for Brain Tumour Research which helped his mum Carole Riches - who sadly died from the illness aged just 52.

Daniel said: “It was absolutely amazing. I was totally blown away by the crowds who were cheering my name. It was such a buzz, I’ve never heard anything like it.

“It was emotional. I had so much support from so many people and my auntie Samantha Riches had a donations box at her shop, the Bear House in Boston.

“I know my mum would have been with me all the way round.”

Talking about the onset of his mum’s illness, he said: “Mum worked in the local Co-op and she was at the heart of the community. Everyone knew her. Her diagnosis came as a big shock to us all.”

The dad-of-two first noticed something was wrong in September 2011 when having a conversation with her.

“Mum was always interested in our lives and always wanted to know what was going on, but it was like she wasn’t there,” he explained. “There was no emotion. She was not responding to anything I said.”

The following week, Carole and husband David went on holiday to Cornwall but had to return home shortly after when they feared Carole had suffered a stroke.

She was taken to Pilgrim Hospital and had a CT scan which revealed a ‘cloud’ on her brain. She was then transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC)in Nottingham for a biopsy.

Daniel said: “Mum was diagnosed with an aggressive grade four glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) but she and Dad were shielding the seriousness of it from me and my older brother Lee.

“My Dad has been amazing throughout it all. He did everything for Mum, and he stayed really positive for Lee and I, even though it must have been so hard for him.“

“Over the next three weeks, Mum’s condition quickly deteriorated. She was taken back to the QMC and died on November 24, 2011 before treatment for the brain tumour had even begun. The speed at which everything happened really shocked me.

“She has already missed so many milestones in my life, the biggest not meeting my two daughters who she would of adored. I feel raising money for this charity would be a lovely legacy to my Mum - to turn a negative into a positive and to hopefully fund lifesaving research to stop another family having to go through what ours have.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Carol Robertson, national events manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Our sincere thanks go to Daniel for taking part in such an epic challenge to help fund vital research into brain tumours. Carole’s story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age.”

To make a donation to Daniel, visit his fundraising page.