A FATHER took on a 14 mile trek in less than five hours for charity and in the memory of his wife who lost her battle with cancer.

Retired teacher, Peter Ruddick, 67, and his daughter Sarah, of Heybridge, braved the Marsden March on March 19, a 14.7 mile trek across London to raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, who are dedicated to help care for those with cancer.

The march began at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, finishing at their Sutton Branch in Surrey nearly 15 miles away.

Peter, of Scraley Road, whose wife Christine was cared for by the charity before losing her battle to cancer in February last year, burned 1338 calories during the trek, and is temporarily using shin splints due to pushing himself so far.

He said: “The Royal Marsden Hospital was absolutely super in caring for my darling wife Christine during her battle with cancer.

“When we arrived at the start we found an air of enjoyment, positivity and some very poignant messages written on the cards attached to the back of other walkers t-shirts. Everybody was enjoying the atmosphere and chatting to each other waiting for their start time.

“We departed with rousing applause and started our walk to Sutton, where we toppled over the finish line clocking at four hours 38 minutes with aching hips, feet and shin splints.

“After going through the finish line accompanied by lots of cheering and congratulations, we collected our medals, had our picture taken, and, after taking pictures, we headed to the refreshment tents where we had the biggest cheeseburger and sausage roll we could find.”

“It was absolutely super to remove my trainers and socks, have a nice cup of tea and put my feet up. There were 5,000 people taking part, it was such a privilege to help raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Charity which is constantly saving lives and helping people deal with cancer in their time of need.”

So far, Peter has raised more than £750 for the charity. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Peter-Ruddick1.