a TAVISTOCK man who has been through major surgery for stomach cancer is ‘giving back’ on Sunday when he and his young son lead a seven-mile charity run on Dartmoor.

Tim Haimes, 49, and his son Morgan, ten, are staging Morgan’s Mini Marathon with a group of Morgan’s friends and other Tavistock youngsters.

The invitation-only event has seen the group of 25 youngsters, some as young as eight, train at twice-weekly training sessions on the moor with Tim and other parents. The run will follow the Tavy 7 course on Sunday (October 30) alongside, but separate from the main event, in a loop from Plasterdown above Tavistock.

The event will money for The Mustard Tree charity based at Derriford Hospital, where Tim was treated after his shock diagnosis with stomach cancer earlier this year.

Tim, of Fox Tor Road, said: ‘It was Morgan’s idea to do Morgan’s Mini Marathon. He’s designed the posters, he has designed the sponsorship forms. He has been an absolute rock for me over the past year, there have been times when he was upset and there have been times when I have been upset and together we have got through this and through training, going out running together. Obviously I’m a bit slower now because I have been a little bit ill.’

Tim used to comfortably manage ultraruns of 50 miles or more. Since his cancer diagnosis in February, though, surgery to remove a 7cm tumour and subsequent chemo, much shorter distances are a challenge for him. So Morgan’s Mini Marathon will be a challenge for him as much as the children. ‘We picked the children we knew are capable of running that distance with a bit of training. It is a an invitation-only event, running seven miles is difficult and the kids have trained very very hard for this. The kids’ commitment has been amazing because they have been getting up early on Wednesday and Sunday mornings, that is when we do our training. I want to say a massive thank-you to the parents who have come along and helped lead the groups and to all the businesses who have support me.’Supporting the run in many ways, from cash to flapjacks and T-shirt sponsorhip are the following local businesses: Texaco petrol station, View Property, Taylors, Runventure, Tavy Signs, the Co-op, Salisburys Estate Agents,Green Man, The Original Pasty House, Dartmoor Photographic, Morrisons and the Bedford Hotel, Flapjackery, M & C White Motor Engineers, Unique Kitchens and Interiors, Tesco, Jay Allerton Painting and Decorating and Dartmoor Ice Cream Company and Chilcotts Law.

Sponsor the team at www.justgiving.com/Morgans-Mini-Marathon