A father from Whitchurch in Hampshire is running the Bupa Great Birmingham Run to help people with cancer in the Midlands.

David Bright, 50, is doing the sponsored 13.1 mile half marathon course on Sunday 23 October with his son Matthew, who lives in Birmingham.

The experienced runner hopes to raise a minimum of £200 from the challenge for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) Charity. The money David raises will go to the charity’s new £6.5 million Cancer Appeal which aims to bring the world’s most advanced treatments to Birmingham.

David explained: “Matthew had signed up to run and as I’ve done a few half marathons in the past I said I’d join him. We chose to support the QEHB Charity because it’s a local charity close to Matthew’s home which makes a real difference to the people in the community it serves.

“Plus we have two connections to the hospital – Matthew’s girlfriend Amy is doing a PhD at the University of Birmingham and my brother-in-law Paul Simpson used to work in A&E at Selly Oak Hospital, when he was a nursing officer with the navy.”

The IT specialist for IBM goes running several times a week, covering three miles each time and is hoping to finish in 1 hour, 40 minutes.

“I ran the London Marathon a few years ago and have run several half marathons since so it shouldn’t be too much of a shock to the system!” said David. “I have had problems with my Achilles tendon in the past but I’m hoping I can keep injury-free as I’m really looking forward to running in Birmingham for the first time.”

Paul Mitchell, Corporate and Community Fundraiser for QEHB Charity, said: “A huge thank you to David and Matthew for signing up for the Bupa Great Birmingham Run in support of our patients.

“We’ll be in in the city on the day cheering everyone on and welcoming our team of runners to a celebratory reception at the end. If you’d like to help people with cancer here in Birmingham why not sign up too?”

To support David, please visit his JustGiving page.

If you’d like to join David and Matthew and run for us, simply register for the event, and then email us to let us know you’re joining our team.

Email: charities@uhb.nhs.uk