A DAD whose baby son spent the final days of his short life at Helen & Douglas House pounded the streets of Reading last weekend in his memory.

Little Charlie Fry was just 17 days old when he died in the hospice in 2012 after being born with Short Gut Syndrome, a condition in which the bowel is shorter than normal.

In extreme cases, the bowel does not have the capacity to absorb water, vitamins and other nutrients needed to sustain life.

On Sunday, 43-year-old Mark, from Pinehurst, took part in the 3km Rainbow Run to raise money for the hospice, which cares for terminally ill children, young adults and their families across Wiltshire, and was where Charlie spent his final 12 days.

Last year, Mark led the Charlie’s Angels team at the inaugural race, where runners are pelted with paint powder – made from a safe and biodegradable form of corn starch. This year he returned to the race, hoping to beat the £200 in sponsorship money he raised last year.

"Helen & Douglas House looked after our first son Charlie who passed away there and it’s just my little bit of help to give back for the huge amount they gave us.

“They did a fantastic job. They rely almost entirely on donations so it’s important to support them. The service they gave us was nothing short of remarkable.”

Mark and wife Jo have since welcomed a little brother to Charlie, Joseph, who is now 17 months old.

Mark was one of more than 750 people who took part in this year’s run at Prospect Park, including Team Bryn, running in memory of Bryn Hitchcock who lost his battle with Late Infantile Batten disease earlier this year.

Hannah Hiscock, team leader, said: “We’re running for Team Bryn to support the Hitchcock family. Our children know the family. We have two children the same age as Bryn and two children the same age as his siblings, so it has touched our hearts and we want to support the family as well as Helen & Douglas House."

During the event volunteers from the Ollie Young Foundation and other local families and volunteers took on the four paint points and showered runners with brightly coloured yellow, green, orange and blue powder paint as they run through the paint stations.

The entertainment started at 10am and there was a warm up by Kathi Elliot an aerobics teacher at Bradfield Sports Centre before the start of the run at 11am.

All participants received a specially designed Rainbow medal at the finish line.

Poppy Hanbury, activities fundraiser from Helen & Douglas House, said: “It was a fantastic day and everyone had great fun getting covered in paint all the colours of the rainbow.

“There were lots of children and families taking part which was wonderful including families who have close connections with the hospice. There were lots of smiles and laughter with everyone having a lot of fun. I would like to extend a big thank you to all our runners, our volunteers, paint point sponsors and everyone who helped put on this event.”

All participants received a ‘goodie bag’ with a specially designed Rainbow medal at the finish line. First senior to cross the finish line was Alan Spencer from Slough and Jon Elden from Tilehurst. First junior to finish was Dominik Nealing, 11, from Reading.

Last year the first Rainbow Runs held in Oxford and Reading attracted around 1,900 people, raising more than £70,000. With the addition of a new High Wycombe-based event organisers hope 5,000 people will take part and raise £150,000 which could pay for 12 weeks of specialist medical care in hospices and at home.

The charity hopes to raise over £30,000 to care for the terminally ill children young adults and their families who use the hospice service.