An Epsom dad who lost his son to cancer ran the Richmond Marathon last weekend – the second of four marathons in four months.

To mark four years since his son Adam died of neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer, Nick Bird completed the Gloucester Marathon on August 6, and Richmond on September 17, with York (October 8) and New York (November 5) still to come.

He is running in aid of Solving Kids Cancer, a charity that helped his family raise money to seek treatment in Germany and the US that was not available in the UK.

Adam, like most neuroblastoma patients, had an advanced form of the disease before it was discovered, and underwent eight months of chemotherapy, dozens of invasive procedures and blood and platelet transfusions.

He also went through radiotherapy and antibody therapy aimed to destroy undetectable residual disease.

Unfortunately the treatments were unsuccessful, and Adam died at age nine on July 11 2013.

Nick said: “To mark the date of us losing Adam, and because SKC relies heavily on funding to make a difference, I decided to run four marathons in four months. Having first-hand experience of the devastation that many families go through, I know that more needs to be done.

“These past few weeks the newspapers have been filled with children dying from neuroblastoma. More research is needed, more clinical trials, more options. Charities like SKC drive research forward by awarding funds. Without these funds, trials would not get off the ground.”

Nick has been a trustee for SKC since 2016, after being involved in raising awareness and money since Adam’s neuroblastoma diagnosis.

In his current challenge, he has already succeeded in raising his original target of £4,444, and he hopes to increase the total far beyond that.

He ran the Richmond Marathon in gold, the colour of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, after running Gloucester in pink to reflect the SKC brand, and he is to run the other two in green and blue, two of Adam’s favourite colours.

So far, he has completed both marathons in under four hours, making it “four under four in four to raise four four four four”.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/4in4months.