2017 I will be completing a number of charity cycles in Leeds and the Leeds half marathon. All in aid of the wonderful charity SMILEY RILEY FUND.

The Smiley Riley Fund was founded after Riley Plant, a courageous little boy lost his fight to cancer. In his loving memory his grandmother now dedicates her life to helping others achieve the best support for families struggling with the associated cost of chemotherapy.

This is Riley’s story

Riley Plant was diagnosed with a rare and incurable brain tumour in April, leading to the Smiley Riley Fund being set up to raise money towards a dream Disney holiday for the “little star” and his family.

His fight against the grade-four atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (AT/RT) led to donations spiralling to more than £23,000 – four times the original target.

But in July, cancer cells were discovered during an operation to remove fluid from Riley’s brain, and he was given only weeks to live.

Following the heartbreaking news, Riley’s parents, Gavin, 24, and Lindsay, 25, brought their wedding forward to July 22 so Riley could be there as a page boy. He passed away at home on Friday evening – the day his parents originally planned to marry – aged just 21 months.

Gavin, of Burnholme, said: “It was as if he knew it was a significant day and he had chosen his time to go.”

Although Riley’s worsening health meant he, his parents and his sisters Ebony and Kelsy could not visit Disneyworld, they enjoyed several breaks at UK holiday sites in the last weeks of his life.

“It meant the world to be able to do so much with Riley, and the memories we have from those holidays – such as him dancing around in his pushchair – are the memories we always wanted to have,” said Gavin, who serves with the Royal Signals and was due to go on a reserve list for deployment to Afghanistan later this year before Riley became ill.

“We wanted to remember Riley as the happy, smiling, dancing little boy he was, and we always will.