An Army veteran will be running five marathons in five days in honour of two South Shields brothers.
Paul Ahmed, of South Shields, is getting ready to run 130 miles to raise funds for the Charlie and Carter Foundation.
The 32-year-old was touched by the plight of Sarah and Chris Cookson who set up the foundation after the death of their two-year-old son, Charlie, who suffered from an undiagnosed condition.
Tragically, the couple's second son, Carter, died in January when he was just 25 days old after pleas to find him a new heart failed.
The foundation provides financial support to parents of seriously ill children with life limiting conditions that require 24 hour nursing care or specialist nursing facilities.
Paul, who was a physical training instructor in the Royal Artillery, said: "Their story touched everyone and brought the community together.
"Being a father myself, I would run to the end of the earth to do what I could for my child.
"I hope to help raise awareness and spread the word about what the foundation does and how it helps."
Paul, who has ran fitness boot camps around the world and now works as a personal trainer, is in the midst of training for the challenge which will start on May 8.
He said: "I'm going to be running one marathon a day for five days back to back - in total 130 miles.
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"I am going to run the Great North Run route, starting in South Shields, running to the start line and back.
"I'm out mornings and evenings and running every day, but not running a marathon every day.
"I started off quite small from six miles and now I've done three half marathons in five days.
"Sunday's a long day, it is a long run, hopefully by next month I will run a full marathon.
"I have also been paying a lot of attention to my strength, working on the upper strength in my body."
To donate to Paul's challenge visit https://bit.ly/2F8FJ7c
