A PSYCHOLOGY student who will be running in his first ever half marathon next month in memory of his dad has asked his friends and family to dig even deeper as he bids to raise funds for Prospect Hospice.

20-year old Marcus Bull is taking part in the Reading Half Marathon on Sunday, March 19 almost a year to the day since dad Christopher was diagnosed with cancer, a diagnosis that was to take his life within just three months.

Now Marcus, a student at Southampton University, wants to show his appreciation for the charity that supported Christopher towards the very end of his life, Prospect Hospice, by putting himself through a gruelling 13-mile run to raise funds for them. Having set an initial target of £700, he has now surpassed £1,200 and hopes for even more. He said: “I would do anything to raise funds to help Prospect Hospice care for more people in the way that they cared for Dad.”

Marcus has been an occasional runner since his early teens, but it was only when a University friend encouraged him to start running again, that he realised how important it was to him.

“We decided to run the Great South Run together last year, which is 10 miles,” he said. “I’d never run 10 miles before, so we spent the summer training and preparing. It was good for me, as Dad passed away in June, and it really gave me something to focus on, and to work towards.”

That experience inspired Marcus to tackle a longer distance: “I wanted to do something bigger. I’ve found that people are more likely to sponsor you if you take on a bigger challenge, and so I decided to sign up for the Reading Half," he said.

The timing of the run marks the anniversary of a time which completely changed the lives of Marcus and his family.

“Everything happened so quickly.” He recalled. “On March 15 I was at university, and received a call from my brother telling me that Dad was in hospital and had to stay overnight. We were told he had cancer. I suppose we were being naive, but we thought that he might be ok. He was in hospital for about two months, before being admitted to Prospect Hospice. It was all very rapid.”

I was doing my exams at the time, and everyone was telling me to go home, but I knew Dad would’ve wanted me to finish my exams. The decline was so quick, towards the end he couldn’t even speak. For the last week of his life I was at the hospice every day, and at the end all his family were able to be there. The care at Prospect Hospice was impeccable and faultless, and provided the best support and comfort he could have wished for.”

Marcus said he would encourage anyone to raise funds as he has for Prospect Hospice. “Embrace it,” he said. “There is nothing to lose, and you are only doing good. After all, what is the pain of running a half marathon, or even further, if it means you can raise money to help people being supported at the end of their lives by the amazing care of Prospect Hospice.”

To support Marcus’s fundraising for Prospect Hospice, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Marcusbull