THIS Sunday is a very special day for one family.

They are taking part in the Brighter Futures Reindeer Run from Coate Water to the Great Western Hospital in memory of wife and mum Tracy – on what would have been her 39th birthday.

Since losing Tracy to cancer last December, the Milburn family, from Haydon Wick, are desperate to see a radiotherapy unit come to Swindon.

Dad Paul, 41, said: “If we could help to bring radiotherapy to Swindon it would be of huge benefit to people who have to go through cancer treatment in the future.

“Everyone we speak to has been touched in some way by cancer. Although we get told statistics all the time we don’t really believe them until we experience it for ourselves, but it’s always a lot closer to home than we think.”

The family – which includes Georgia, 11, Aimee, 9, and Joseph, 6 – has so far raised around £900 in sponsorship for the Reindeer Run, and, as Paul says: “It’s a really good amount, but we are trying to hit the £1,000 mark.”

The Milburns have managed to pull in almost £4,000 in donations over the past year. They asked people to contribute to the radiotherapy appeal instead of giving flowers at Tracy’s funeral. And when the new polymer £5 notes came out in September they thought it would be a great idea for people to donate their first fiver.

“Tracy was the kind of person who always wanted to do things to help others,” said Paul.

“She had to go through three rounds of treatment in Oxford and it was really hard for her. We saw how much it took out of her and how hard it was to organise and we don’t want to see other people having to make the same trip.”

The Reindeer Run, which takes place this Sunday, is a 5k fun run in which participants dress up and chase a carrot around Coate Water.

It’s a great excuse for Paul to strap on his running shoes, especially after the disappointment of not being able to make the London Marathon this year.

“I put my name down,” he said. “But I didn’t get through. I haven’t actually run for 10 years but I wanted to do something outside of my normal activities.

“All the kids are looking forward to it. Joseph’s only six so he will probably walk most of it. He’s half looking forward to it, but he doesn’t really know how long it is – the others are very keen on it.

“I am very confident that the Brighter Futures radiotherapy appeal will eventually reach its target. It has a lot of support and it’s great to be a part of the fundraising effort.”

So far £1,200,000 has been raised for Brighter Futures. The team is very grateful for every single donation and wish to thank everyone for their support. To donate you can send cut out and send in the attached form or log on to www.brighterfuturesgwh.nhs.uk.