Peterborough resident's emotional half-marathon in memory of best friend

The Bretton resident was delighted to have completed the half marathon in one hour, 55 minutes and 33 seconds (just 34 seconds past his target time), but the only reason he was running the race was in memory of his best friend Paul McCann.

Dad of two Paul (32) had tragically collapsed and died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome during the 2016 Great Eastern Run.

Both men worked at Great Northern’s operator Govia Thameslink Railway, and Reece said Great Northern had donated £200 towards his current total of £750 which he has so far raised for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

Reece said: “It was tough but I got through it! The atmosphere was unbelievable, it really was special.

“It was bittersweet - you’ve run the biggest half marathon in the world, the same race as Mo Farah, with 50 odd thousand people. You have got sucked into the atmosphere. But I should not have been running it for the reason I was running it.

“When times got hard between mile eight and mile 11, I don’t know how I go from one end to the other. But I knew he was looking over me and pushing me on. He would never have let me give up.”

To donate to CRY, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/reece-hill5.