Mother's memory inspires son's 30km challenge

A man is taking on a challenge to cover 30km (18.6 miles) each month to raise money in memory of his mother who died from cancer.

Dave Pullin, from Bedworth, Warwickshire, lost his mum Marcia, eight weeks after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022.

As part of his year-long challenge, he is set to run the Coventry Half Marathon on Sunday in aid of Cancer Research UK.

"My mum was diagnosed in May; I was given six months and eight weeks later she was gone," he said. "It still affects me but I've got her in my heart, I've got her in my mind and she'll be there on Sunday looking down at me."

The popular race is expected to attract thousands to the city this weekend and will see participants set off in the city centre from 09:00 BST, before heading into the Warwickshire countryside.

Pullin, originally from Stoke-on-Trent, said his love of running started in school before he began taking part in half marathons from 2015, first running in the 13.1mile Potters 'Arf.

To mark his 30th birthday, he has committed to 30km of activity every month, such as running, walking, and cycling, to raise money for the cancer charity.

After being taken into care from when he was seven, Pullin said his relationship with his birth mum was "rocky for many years" and he only started to develop a relationship with her when he turned 18.

Before she died, she came and watched him run in the Special Olympics in Birmingham, where he won gold in both the 100m and 200m.

Pullin described it as a "pretty special experience".

"I think I will never forget it, because just before we went in I said to my mum 'I'm not going to get gold, there's some fast runners here' and then when I got that first gold I'm thinking, 'right this is something special'," he added.

"Seeing my mum and seeing how happy she was, she was the biggest cheerleader in that stadium to be honest."

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