Story
Once again, I am doing the London marathon in memory of my beautiful son, Riley.
Many of you may have read my stories from years passed and understand why I do this every year, so I will try and keep it as short as I can (you know that will be impossible)
In 2003 my son was born severely disabled. His physical disabilities were profound and there was little hope of his survival. To give you a little snapshot of his chances I will tell you this. Riley was born with 17 broken bones and many of his other bones hadn't formed properly and he could not breathe alone. Obviously his mother and I were beside ourselves with worry and I was badgering the doctors saying "What can you do for him? Will he survive? Please do all you can...". A patronising doctor held my shoulder and said "just sit with your son, he will only live the next 10 minutes..."
Riley battled and fought and scrapped, as did we, for his whole life. He spent 14 months in hospital from the day he was born and when he came home it was the most joyous feeling you could ever imagine. He obviously had his problems and still had to be ventilated every night but when I say that this boy was the most charming, magnetic and cheeky boy you could ever meet, I really am not over estimating. His spirit makes the word “inspirational” seem a bit of a joke!
Fast forward to October 2006 and Riley starts school, he lights the place up and really starts to make his mark. Every day playtime activities were essentially scrapped so that the other children could gather around Riley as he held court (he was 3 and a half years old at this time by the way). Proud, again, is not a word that comes close to the feeling this gave us.
Riley spent some time in hospital over the Christmas of 2006 and whilst watching the TV he saw loads of marathon runners and he turned me and asked me if I could do that. This is a boy who couldn't walk or lift his own head; there was no way I was going to say no. I called KIDS charity, as they were fantastic with Riley, and I said I want to run the next marathon for them and they said yes! Riley loved holding my pedometer and shaking it to make the miles increase when I got back from my training runs, and I used to jog around the hospital pushing him in his wheelchair as he shouted "Riley do running!"
Riley saw me complete my first marathon in 2007 and he was so proud...he sadly passed away 2 weeks later and we miss him beyond words. Miss him like crazy! I feel so close to him during those 26 miles (strangely).
Since then, I have run 7 marathons and this will be my 8th. As a family (and friends), we have raised over £25,000 in his honour for KIDS. I am proud to say that my friend Ozgur Hulus was inspired to run the New York Marathon for Riley, my brother in law David Jenkins has run the London Marathon, my cousin Jennie Morley has run the Asics 10k, my friend Luke Edwards has done Tough Mudder and now my little cousin Sam Turpin is also doing the London Marathon this year (apologies to anyone I have forgotten).
This sums up Riley, he was an inspiration and still continues to be and I can't believe that I got to be his Dad. I have also been blessed with 2 other cracking boys, Tate and Rudy (who both have their brother’s twinkle!). They keep me strong and make me laugh when things seem a bit much.
Running the marathon is absolutely POINTLESS...unless I can raise the money for KIDS. The people who donate will always be way more important than me making myself a bit tired and getting a few blisters. Please give all you can because it will make it's way to a kid like Riley. A special kid!
I just want to sign off by saying that this is not meant to be a sad story but one of hope and strength!
A little boy was given nothing and gave it everything and inspired hundreds (if not thousands) of people...not bad for living only "10 minutes" hey?
Much love and many thanks
Riley, Tate and Rudy's Dad