AN emotional Gary Morton has finished his 31st marathon in 31 days, crossing the finishing line at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust.

Gary, 43, is aiming to raise £30,000 for The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity to say thank you for treating his mum in law Gillian Walker. His fundraising total currently stands at £29,900.

Gillian was at the hospital in Wirral with more than 50 family and friends to see the end of the mammoth challenge.

After he completed his final 26.2 mile run, from Gillian’s house in Wigan, Gary said: “I feel like a million dollars. Last night my Achilles tendon was really sore and I was feeling it, but today has been brilliant.

“Maybe adrenaline carried me through, I don’t know, but to see all these people here is just amazing and if I can do something to help people

with cancer then it has all
been worthwhile.”

An emotional Gillian, 62, greeted her son with a big hug and said: “I am the proudest mum in law in the whole world. He is quite simply an inspiration. I love him to bits.”

Gillian, 62, is receiving immunotherapy treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre after being diagnosed with skin cancer four years ago that spread to her liver and lung.

Gary started his challenge on 29th September and his final run was his second fastest of the challenge in an impressive 3 hours and 42 minutes. His quickest was on day one at 3 hours 38 minutes.

The 43-year-old is head of purchasing for DW Sports in Wigan and the majority of his runs were from his home in Rossendale, Lancashire, to work every morning, setting off at 3.30am.

Also there to see him finish today were his wife Lindsay and sons Dominic, 11, and five-year-old Albie.

Lindsay said: “Gary has got more self-motivation than anyone I have ever met in my whole life and he’s doing it because he wants to help raise vital funds and awareness to help beat cancer.

“If it wasn’t for the funding and the money that people like Gary raise to go into cancer research, immunotherapy wouldn’t exist and it wouldn’t be able to work its magic on patients like my mum.”

Jeni Nugent, Fundraising Manager for The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said: “We are absolutely blown away by what Gary has done. To run one marathon is an achievement, to take on 31 in 31 days is a truly superhuman effort.

“We want to say a huge thank you to Gary and his support team for helping transform cancer care.”

The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity is aiming to raise £15 million towards the building of a new specialist hospital in Liverpool and improvements to the Wirral site.